Daily Show correspondent Larry Wilmore on his new book, Obama, and aliens.
Interviewed by Rob Kutner, author of Apocalypse How: Turn the End-Times Into the Best of Times
You pose a question in I’d Rather We Got Casinos and Other Black Thoughts that no other author has ever dared to: Why are there no UFO sightings by black people?
It’s a real puzzler. Is it harder for aliens to see our skin at night? Or do brothers just automatically block out anyone who might take them away on a ship?
You devote two entire chapters to the topic. Is there something you want to share?
No, it’s just kind of a personal obsession. Like the “Shetland Negro” — those adorable, nonthreatening staples of ’80s sitcoms like Arnold Drummond and Webster. I’m asking the Hollywood brain trust to bring them back. But my favorite chapter is probably “In Search of Black Jesus.”
Look, we already know he was Jewish. Do you really want to make his life more complicated?
Just consider the evidence of his blackness: He traveled with a huge posse. He couldn’t get a fair trial. And he drank from a chalice way before Snoop made it cool.
You also want the NAACP to change the term “African-American” to “Chocolate.” Are you getting paid off by Ghirardelli?
I just think it’s a smoother way to wean everyone off racism. It’s fun, easy to modify (for example, the NAACP could keep its letterhead), and instead of slavery it makes you think of dessert. It basically guarantees that all women on Earth will love us — and that’s over half the battle.
What flavor would that make Barack Obama?
“Chocolate Milk.” Which is kind of a neat twofer: His victory is a blow against both racial and lactose intolerance.
Who do you hope your book pisses off the most?
I know you’re thinking I’m going to say “the Man.” But the government and insolvent mortgage banks are doing a much better job keeping brothers down than he ever could. Honestly, I kinda feel sorry for the guy.
This article originally appeared in the March 2009 issue of Men’s Journal.
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February 24th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Funny stuff.
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