W. Kamau Bell has been busy these last few years. As a socio-political comedian who hosts three podcasts and a CNN documentary series, there’s been plenty of material to work with. Plus, he’s the proud dad of two daughters, and he released his first book on May 2, titled The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell: Tales of a 6’ 4”, African American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmatic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama’s Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian. In addition to a book tour, he’s currently touring his stand-up, which brings him to Boulder Theater on Thursday, May 11.
So yeah, he’s been busy. Or in his words, his life feels “hectic and frantic,” much like the current state of affairs in the country.
“If I don’t say the word Trump on stage at some point during my set, I’m probably not doing my job,” Bell says. The same can be said about journalism, I point out. “Right. You can be a food reporter talking about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and you have to talk about Donald Trump.”
Bell’s disarming chuckle is interspersed throughout the conversation. It’s the same laugh that peppers his commentary on the CNN series The United Shades of America, his podcasts and stand-up act. It’s both genuine and potentially necessary given he makes a living by bringing up uncomfortable topics and finding the humor in them.
“I’m talking about people’s humanity, and the way in which I see my humanity, or where I see people not really being treated in the full scope of their humanity,” Bell says.
He doesn’t just provide commentary on relevant issues from a distant stage. He engages them, and does so with people around the country who hold viewpoints very different from his own. United Shades premiered its second season on April 30 with a somewhat controversial episode featuring white supremacist Richard Spencer, who’s credited with coining the phrase “alt-right.”
“No, I didn’t want to punch him,” Bell says, answering a question posed by a friend. “I wanted to expose him. I want people to hear what he has to say.”
Some may say this is giving Spencer and his ideas a platform, but Bell disagrees. It isn’t in any way a form of validation. It’s an acknowledgement that these ideas are out there in the world… and in the White House. And Bell presents them part and parcel with his conviction that in the end racial justice will win.
“A lot of people who are mad definitely haven’t seen [the episode],” Bell says. “Richard Spencer is a part of it. He’s surrounded by beautiful stories of immigrants and refugees, but those stories don’t mean as much, they don’t carry as much heat, unless you show that there are people in this country actively working against those immigrants and refugees.”
Plus, Spencer isn’t even the most surprising thing about season two. In his quest to showcase all of the seemingly different stories, lives and communities that make up America, Bell is discovering how similar we all really are. Take for example two upcoming episodes, one about gang violence on the West and South Side of Chicago and another about the overwhelming poverty white communities experience in Appalachia.
“Both groups were like, ‘We need jobs, we need better schools, we need to figure this out,’” he says. “When you strip away the partisan, sort of the team-sport nature of our electoral politics, a lot of people want the same things. They want to strengthen their communities for their kids and for themselves so they can provide more for their family.”
Which inevitably brings us back to Donald Trump, and how the president treats these two groups very differently despite their similarities. In Appalachia, he promises jobs, in Chicago he threatens to send in the National Guard.
“If a president said, ‘I’m going to focus on the 100 poorest communities in this country and we’re going to work to give those communities tax breaks so businesses will invest in those communities and create jobs,’” Bell says, “who’s upset about that?”
By giving voice to people’s stories from around the country, Bell’s goal is to dismantle stereotypes, to expose biases and make people think about the world beyond themselves.
He understands it can be frustrating for some to listen to people like Spencer. But instead of avoiding that frustration, Bell begs us to do something about it.
“White people, talk to your white people about Richard Spencer because he’s on your account,” he says. “Just like Ben Carson is on my account.”
There’s that chuckle again.
On the Bill: W. Kamau Bell. 7 p.m. Thursday, May 11, Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St., Boulder, 303-786-7030.
