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Be Inspired
Each week, we will post a story about inspiring African American “FIRSTS” and Black History Makers.
Meet Moms Mabley: The First Female Black Comedian:
A remembrance of teenage friendship by Rev. Lucinda Witt
Loretta Mary Aiken, known by her stage name Jackie "Moms" Mabley, was an American stand-up comedian and actress. Mabley began her career on the theater stage in the 1920s and became a veteran entertainer of the Chitlin' Circuit of black vaudeville.
Born: March 19, 1897, Brevard, NC
Died: May 23, 1975 (age 78 years)
Entertainment Medium: Vaudeville; television; stand-up; film
I had a best friend at McCulloch Jr. High School in Marion, IN. who introduced me to her comedy routines. My friend’s name was Linda Smith. She was funny and she had a laugh that just drew me to her. She also remembered every monologue that Mom created, and she could imitate her style so very well.
She asked me if I would like to come to her house and listen to the records of Mom Mabley’s comedy routines. I said, “Yes!!”
My Mother was not too sure about me going over to her home, because it was in the black neighborhood section in Marion, IN.
I felt no fear at all, and I assured her that Linda was one of my best friends, and I loved listening to the records of Mom’s routines that she had acquired.
I respected her because of our close friendship, and her willingness to share an important part of her life with me. My Mother finally gave in and allowed me to share the experience of this great, talented and funny woman.
I never had any problems going into Linda’s home. Her Mother was so kind and sweet, and she always had cookies and milk for us to share as we listened to the records. We spent many happy moments listening to Mom; I got a real appreciation and understanding of what made Black Comedy so appealing. Mom was the first black woman to create her own routines.
Mom’s timing and comedic subjects were hysterical. I learned a great deal from her as I listened to her voice, and the subject matter, which was all about black life. She told the funniest stories about her family and friends.
In 1921 she began touring with the husband-and-wife team Butterbeans & Susie, soon making her debut at Harlem's legendary Cotton Club; Mabley was also a fixture of New York City's emerging Black theatre.
Mabley entered the world of film and stage as well, working with writer Zora Neale Hurston on the 1931 Broadway show Fast and Furious: A Colored Revue in 37 Scenes and taking on a featured role in Paul Robeson's Emperor Jones (1933).
She performed alongside other legendary Black performers like Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington. Drawing on her vaudeville training, Mabley would intermingle singing and dancing with her comedy routine.
According to Whoopi Goldberg, who directed a documentary about Mabley in 2013, said that she may have been the very first standup comic of any gender.
Mabley effectively harnessed the power of laughter in ways that resonated with her Black audience and forced her white audience to confront their own prejudice.
In the early 1960s, Mabley began to gain the attention of white audiences through her popular comedy records as well as her appearances on mainstream television programs such as The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and The Ed Sullivan Show.
Yet despite her increasing popularity, Mabley did not change her routine for white audiences. She used her stand-up comedy to pointedly critique American politics and expose the underlying absurdity of racial discrimination.
Though she never experienced the full fame she deserved in her lifetime, she is remembered as a trailblazer, not only helping to create the craft of stand-up comedy but challenging gender stereotypes and racial bigotry,
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