Dick Gregory and the History of Black Comedy and Activism

At the height of his fame, Dick Gregory may have been the most influential comedian in America: But he wasn’t only concerned with making people laugh. Mark Anthony Neal of Duke’s African & African American Studies Department discusses how Gregory used comedy in the quest for civil and human rights.

Video by Emily Frachtling

More from Mark Anthony Neal

• "Left of Black" webcast series
• TED Talk: "The Devil Wanna Put Me in a Bowtie"
• The Summer Songs of 1974 That Changed America
• On Citation, Collaboration and Teaching a History of Hip-Hop
• Five Decades of African American Studies at Trinity College