{"id":6107,"date":"2024-03-03T05:37:14","date_gmt":"2024-03-03T05:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=6107"},"modified":"2024-03-09T05:41:56","modified_gmt":"2024-03-09T05:41:56","slug":"mimis-musings-black-entrepreneurs-ensure-ownership-of-african-american-stories-black-comedians-keep-audiences-laughing-despite-pain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=6107","title":{"rendered":"Mimi\u2019s Musings: Black Entrepreneurs Ensure Ownership of African American Stories, Black Comedians Keep Audiences Laughing Despite Pain"},"content":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0Micha Green<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the final week of Black History Month, and The Washington Informer, following the Association for the Study of African American and Life and History\u2019s (ASALH) theme \u201cAfrican Americans and the Arts,\u201d\u00a0 has delved deep into the contributions of Black artists to the nation and world. From performing, visual and literary arts, it\u2019s been an exciting month of examining and celebrating Black art and artists, and this week, we\u2019re diving into the worlds of arts entrepreneurship and comedy.<\/p>\n

While the two fields might not seem directly related, the correlation between African American arts entrepreneurship and comedy is all about taking ownership of Black stories.<\/p>\n

Artistic business ventures, such as\u00a0Berry Gordy\u2019s Motown<\/a>,\u00a0Cathy Hughes\u2019 Urban One (formerly Radio One)<\/a>,\u00a0Shawn \u201cJay-Z Carter\u2019s Roc Nation<\/a>, or\u00a0Tyler Perry\u2019s barrier-breaking production studio<\/a>, are examples of African Amreicans owning, creating, producing and promoting Black art.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s extremely important is that we own our images and our stories,\u201d\u00a0Derek Dingle, chief content officer for Black Enterprise<\/a>\u00a0and an owner of\u00a0Milestone Media<\/a>, told The Informer.<\/p>\n

Milestone is the mastermind behind\u00a0Static Shock<\/a>, distributed as \u201cStatic,\u201d though D.C. comics from 1993-1997.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason why we created Milestone is that in the 90s, we wanted to diversify the industry, not only in terms of storytelling, not only in terms of characters and trademarks, but also in terms of giving young African Americans at the time an opportunity to be creative in an industry that excluded them,\u201d Dingle said.<\/p>\n

Further, in D.C. entrepreneurs like Hughes, emphasize the leading role the District plays in ensuring African American artists receive exposure and are showcased to the masses.<\/p>\n

In a different way than entrepreneurs, Black comedians take ownership, reclaim and share African American stories with audiences.\u00a0 Despite centuries-long challenges of systemic oppression and racism, African Americans American comedians use stories of pain and struggle to reframe them in a way that turns the depressing narratives to hilarious tales of resilience.<\/p>\n