J Garland McKee - Laughin' With 'Em, Southern Negro Humor in Dialect 1969

J Garland McKee	Birth Name	Birthplace
Born/Died	Official Site	Wikipedia

Amos & Andy. Stepin Fetchit. Aunt Jemima. Jar Jar Binks. American history is littered with people and characters who have found success by exploiting African-American stereotypes. Meet the Rev. J. Garland McKee - humorist, minister, negro impersonator. From the liner notes:

"Possessing a warm, merry heart and a genuine sense of humor himself, J. Garland McKee has long been most appreciative for the contribution the southern negro had made to his own life with their delightful, natural humor." 

I see. But how did Mr. McKee become such an expert in negro humor?

"Born and reared in the heart of the Mississippi Delta in Greenville, Mississippi, Mr. McKee has been closely acquainted with many negro people since early childhood."

Oh, ok. I bet some of his best friends were black!

This LP, a recording of an "after-dinner address presented to the Southwest Louisiana Chapter, American Institute of Banking," is more than anything else a time capsule of the last days of the era when even the (best-unintended) "us" considered black people to be "them". It would never do to have Southern Negroes telling their own jokes and stories. The white man needed a safe, respectable filter between himself and the world of the black man. McKee saw himself as a cultural documentarian, an ethnographer - Margaret Mead in blackface.

"Feeling their wonderful and unusual folklore is a treasured part of Southern heritage and also distinctly Americana, he seeks to be a good ambassador in helping preserve a part of this unique humor for the present and future generations." ~ HoustonPress

01 Coon Hunt
02 -Angel 
03 Paratrooper 
04 Railroad Test 
05 Christmas Dinner
06 Selling Hogs
07 Negro Hippy
08 Bird Dog
09 Negro From Yale
10 Long Distance Call
11 Milk Bath
12 Two Hogs
13 Kissing The Sanitary Way
14 Trial Sermon
15 The Pope 

  

		Stand-up			* * *
Enjoy!
His other material on this blog is tagged at the bottom of this post ↓ WANTED ↓
Laughin' With 'Em Number 2 1971	Delightful Humor From the Mississippi Delta Volume 1		Delightful Humor From the Mississippi Delta Volume 2	Delightful Humor From the Mississippi Delta Volume 3		Video Vol 1 & 2

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