{"id":1201719,"date":"2024-02-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/?p=1201719"},"modified":"2024-02-28T15:30:38","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T20:30:38","slug":"african-american-arts-entrepreneurship-comedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/african-american-arts-entrepreneurship-comedy\/","title":{"rendered":"Mimi’s Musings: Black Entrepreneurs Ensure Ownership of African American Stories, Black Comedians Keep Audiences Laughing Despite Pain"},"content":{"rendered":"\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  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\n\n\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\n\n\n

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

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

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

Moreover, many local comedians, such as DMV natives Florence Mills, Martin Lawrence, Dave Chappelle, and more have been barrier-breaking in the comedy world, paving the way for more\u00a0 Black comedic artists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, taking ownership of Black narratives, whether through arts entrepreneurship or comedy is a key way for Black creatives and artistic leaders to inspire other generations to do the same. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I look at the reincarnation and the evolution of Milestone, we created a program in which we developed new artists, new talent, and actually we had them illustrate and write for our comic books, and use that as a platform for them to grow and develop. And many of the people that we worked with the 90s and today, they\u2019re creating their own properties,\u201d Dingle explained. \u201cIf we really want to own our voice, we have to own the properties that present our stories and present our voice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we wrap Black History Month, it\u2019s important to acknowledge the critical contributions of African American arts entrepreneurs and comedians to their fields, honor their abilities to take ownership of narratives, and celebrate the larger cultural waves they\u2019ve created throughout the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

African American arts entrepreneurs and comedians have been taking ownership of Black stories through arts entrepreneurship and comedy, paving the way for future generations to do the same.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4412,"featured_media":1200173,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_primary_brand":0,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","nota_seo_page_title":"","nota_seo_page_description":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"small","newspack_post_subtitle":"Local Comics, Arts Moguls Serve as Barriers in District, Nation and World","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,33768],"tags":[67520,68587,1615,53849,68588],"brand":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"nota":[],"coauthors":[62923],"class_list":["post-1201719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blackhistory","category-black-history-month","tag-african-americans-and-the-arts","tag-arts-entrepreneurship","tag-black-history-month","tag-micha-green","tag-static-shock","entry"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nAfrican American arts entrepreneurship: Owning and promoting Black art - The Washington Informer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover the critical contributions of African American arts entrepreneurs and comedians during Black History Month. 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