Yesterday, I finally viewed video of Wanda Sykes performing at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner on the Washington Blade Blog (the media coverage discussing her comments about Rush Limbaugh have been tough to ignore). The event took place last Saturday, May 7th. On that evening, Wanda Sykes made history as the first African-American woman and first openly gay person to perform at the Correspondent’s Dinner.
It’s been an exciting couple of weeks for Ms. Sykes. She and her wife (married in 2008) welcomed twins Olivia Lou and Lucas Claude into the world on April 27th.
While I’ve enjoyed Wanda’s comedic performances over the years, I was most impressed with her involvement in the "Think Before You Speak“ campaign created by GLSEN and the Ad Council. Watching Wanda’s work got me thinking about the power of comedy and its ability to communicate a common message to diverse audiences through the universal language of laughter.
LGBT folks are lucky to have someone like Ms. Sykes on our side… an ally who clearly understands the power of laughter to communicate a message clearly.
As a tribute to Ms. Sykes and her pioneering work, I did some research into her background and discovered five facts I thought might be interesting to the Out Front Blog’s readers:
1.) Wanda was raised in the Washington, D.C. area.
2.) She attended Arundel High School in Maryland, Hampton University in Virginia and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in marketing (like me).
3.) Her first job after college was as a procurement officer for the National Security Agency (NSA). She worked there for five years (now that makes me laugh for some reason… is that where she developed her signature droll expressions?).
4.) Sykes was married to record producer David Hall from 1991 to 1998. Hall has worked with a number of A-list musicians including Madonna, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, and Usher.
5.) In March 2009, it was announced that Sykes would be the host of a new late-night talk show on Saturdays on Fox.
Wanda Sykes, thank you for your bravery, honesty, and commitment to the LGBT community. Despite the challenges we face, your presence always provides a laugh, chortle, and smile that takes the edge off the fight for equality.
*To be clear, this post in no way intends to comment on the appropriateness of Ms. Sykes comments about Rush Limbaugh. I imagine those comments entertained some and offended others.
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Waooo, Great articulo… your friend Peter2.