Laughing While Black with Damon Young

Damon Young is a writer, critic, humorist, satirist, and professional Black person. He's a founder of VerySmartBrothas, a columnist at GQ, and a senior editor at The Root. His debut memoir, What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker (Ecco/HarperCollins) is a tragicomic exploration of the angsts, anxieties, and absurdities of existing while black in America.

Episode Questions:

• What feeds into assumptions of how we're supposed to interact with the world?

• Have you experienced people making assumptions about who you were or how you should act based on any facets of your identity?

• Have you ever yielded to the pressure to "perform" behaviors and attitudes to fit an image?

• How do you feel about this notion of performance at this juncture of you life? How do you perceive yourself?

• How can self perception resist the motion of performance?

• How does it help you figure what you can do or offer in the work of social transformation?

• What role does humor have in social transformation work?

• Why might people develop humor in social change?

• Why might humor be necessary in our resistance?

• Damon made a really good point when he named said that "if we want to fight and resist and transform, we have to use all parts of ourselves." What parts of yourself are easy to access and leverage in movement work?

• What parts of yourself are challenging to bring forward?

•  "When a group of people is colonized or occupied, language is the first victim." This stood out because language is so vital because us is what we use to frame ourselves, to tell our stories as well to seek and speak truth. How do you consider or use language in your personal and social transformation work?

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