Africa400 pays tribute to Paul Mooney, legendary comic, educator and social commentator, on the Wednesday, June 30 show. 

Paul Mooney (1941–2021) was a comedic legend commentator, and educator who died on Malcolm X’s birthday. As one writer says, “There are plenty of parallels between Paul the Comic and Malcolm the so-called Communist. Both were fiery and unapologetic in their rebuttals of racism and American hypocrisy.”

He is best known for his fearless stand-up comedy which was actually an analysis of historical and institutional racism. This razor sharp and honest commentary can be seen in his stand up comedy specials such as;

• • Race
  • Master Piece
  • Analyzing White America
  • Know Your History: Jesus Is Black; So Was Cleopatra
  • It’s the End of the World
  • Shaquille O’ Neal’s All Star Comedy Jam and
  • The Godfather of Comedy.

As the writer concludes, “Paul Mooney was funny, but he told the truth so blatantly that even diehard revolutionaries shuddered.”

In another article Mooney’s life is eloquently summarized in these words:

“What matters is your legacy; what you leave behind. Mooney left behind not only a string of poignant Black culture references and rhetoric, but the template of being successful without aligning yourself with white institutions. Mooney won because he stood out. He won because the work was what mattered, and what the audience took with them was his reward.”

Listen to the June 30 broadcast here:

Africa400 is broadcast live every Wednesday at 2:00 PM (Eastern Time, United States) on HANDRadio (https://handradio.org).  After the broadcast, the show can be heard on HANDRadio’s Podcasts page, an updated version of this post and the Media Pages of KUUMBAReport (https://kuumbareport.com), KUUMBAEvents (https://kuumbaevents.com) and the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (https://srdcinternational.org).