Lisa Beringer's Joking Matters represents an indispensable introduction to African American satire of the twenty-first century. In a context marked by rising white Christian nationalism, assaults on programs to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, and premature declarations of a “post-racial” America, African American writers, comedians, and performers who resort to satire expose ongoing racial discrimination. Beringer's impressive array of subject matter spans televised comedians such as Key & Peele, Josh Johnson, and W. Kamau Bell, and writers such as Percival Everett and Alice Randall, all of whom demonstrate how race continues to matter. Her excellent presentation and analysis of their material inspire interest in their work and at times uncontained mirth. As her title implies, “joking matters” because it remains one of the few ways to make visible the ways that white Americans' privilege sculpts social, political, institutional, and economic life to create an environment comfortable only for themselves. Beringer argues that like Ralph Ellison of the 1950s the Black satirists of this era are trying to “change the joke and slip the yoke” of race-based oppression and discrimination.

Susan Curtis, Purdue University, USA

Well researched and theoretically rich, Beringer's Joking Matters offers a thoughtful examination of Black humor and its power against the stultifying nature of white intransigence.

Lee Bebout, Arizona State University, USA