By Aisha Marilyn Abdulbary-Knotts | Staff Writer
There has always been a particular kind of joke that people try to pass off as harmless: pretending to be Black. The voice, the slang, the exaggerated mannerisms, the stereotypes worn like a costume. It shows up at parties, in group chats, and in casual conversations where someone thinks they are being funny. But it is not funny. It has never been funny.
What makes it worse is how normalized it has become. By 2026, you would think we would be past this. We live in a time where conversations about race, identity, and respect are more visible than ever. And yet, people are still comfortable reducing Black identity to a punchline. That comfort is the problem.
Because that is what it is: comfort. The kind that allows someone to mock a culture they do not belong to and then brush it off with “it is just a joke.” The kind that assumes no one will say anything, or that if someone does, they are being “too sensitive.” But there is nothing lighthearted about being made into a caricature. There is nothing harmless about watching your identity be imitated for laughs.
Humor does not exist in a vacuum. It reflects what we think is acceptable. And when pretending to be Black becomes a joke people repeat without hesitation, it says something deeper: that Blackness is still seen by some as something to perform, distort, and laugh at rather than respect.
What is even more frustrating is how predictable the response is when this gets called out. Defensiveness. Dismissal. The insistence that no harm was intended. But intent does not erase impact. You do not get to decide that something is not offensive just because you did not mean for it to be. If anything, the refusal to listen when people say it is offensive only reinforces the problem.
People have gotten too comfortable being racist under the guise of humor. Too comfortable thinking that as long as they are laughing, it cannot be harmful. Too comfortable ignoring the fact that these jokes are rooted in stereotypes that have real histories and real consequences.
This is not about being overly critical or trying to cancel anyone. It is about basic respect. It is about recognizing that someone else’s identity is not your material. It is about understanding that what feels like a joke to you can feel like disrespect, exclusion, and exhaustion to someone else.
Because it is exhausting. It is exhausting to constantly hear these jokes. It is exhausting to decide whether to call them out or let them slide. It is exhausting to exist in spaces where people feel entitled to make your identity the butt of their humor.
So here is the reminder that should not need to be said: with the non-Black people on this campus, we see it. We see when you are making fun of us. We see when you think it is harmless. We see when you choose laughter over respect.
And it needs to end.
