Comedian Larry Wilmore of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” will add his own comic perspective to the University’s Martin Luther King Jr. celebration at 2 p.m. Jan. 19 at the Michigan Union Ballroom.
His talk, “Don’t Take Diversity Seriously: Just Kidding!” is sponsored by the University Library and is free to the public.
Wilmore, who has won both Emmy and Peabody awards, will share his provocative, timely and hilarious views on race, diversity and politics in America on the day before Barack Obama’s historic inauguration.
“President-elect Obama has ushered in an era of change and in that spirit I think it’s time for African Americans to confront an overdue task — a name change,” Wilmore says. “First of all, African American is so last century and, secondly, we’re really not that crazy about Africa.”
Wilmore’s first book, “I’d Rather We Got Casinos (and Other Black Thoughts),” will be released this month. In it, he uses a variety of literary forms — op-eds, letters, graduation speeches — to explore the current state of race relations in America.
A faux “collected writings” of his alter ego — the renowned TV newsman — Wilmore’s book covers everything from Black History Month (“The purpose is making up for centuries of oppression with 28 days of trivia. I’d rather we got casinos.”) to “racist” hurricanes (“Hurricanes start off the coast of Africa and work their way across the ocean to the Deep South. What does that remind you of?”)
Wilmore began his career as an actor and stand-up comic before moving into television writing and producing in the early 1990s. He’s written for shows such as “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “In Living Color” and “The Jamie Foxx Show.” He co-created the animated show “The PJs” with Eddie Murphy and a few years later created “The Bernie Mac Show.” He also has written, produced and appeared on “The Office,” and currently is developing a sitcom on HBO.
Wilmore’s talk is co-sponsored with the Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives, Bentley Historical Library, Information Technology Central Services, Kresge Business Administration Library at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, Law Library, School of Information and University Housing.
For more information, contact Helen Look at 936-7663 or [email protected] or go to www.lib.umich.edu/mlk.
