The other night, whilst hangin' in an East Village Bar (much to my Mother's dismay), my Dear friend Hakim put me on to this comic.I thought her shit was funny, i'm sure the 3 Coronas I had helped me come to this conclusion.
Upon further research, I found out that Ms. Liquor is actually Charles Knipp,
a gay white man. Knipp performs in Black Face and Drag to become Shirley Q Liquor, an ebonic speakin' Southern Black Mother of 19 chil'rens, that collects her welfare on the 1st and 15th, repectivley. Shirley attends the Mount Holy Olive Second Baptist Zion Church of God in Christ of Resurrected Latter-Days AME CME, she enjoys Cold Malt Liquors ("It works Everytime!") and Menthol Cigarettes.Ms. Liquor has been the center of controversy for quite some time. Her shows have been boycotted, her appearance protested and some show dates cancelled. In particular there is one Black Female that is not impressed with Knipp's act, Jasmyne Cannick. Cannick's campaign to shut down Knipp demands more for Black Women and Black People in general.
While watching Shirley's clips on YouTube, I found myself laughing at her/his antics. One of the clips entitled "Church Slave" was particularly funny and quite true in its comments about Black Female Churchgoers.
In some ways I felt guilty for finding Shirley funny, but would the jokes have been alright if Knipp was actually a Black Man?
And to add to the equation... what of Tyler Perry's Madea? Is his Angry Black Woman Caricature acceptable simply because he is Black?
Check out this clip of Shirley Q Liquor and leave me some feedback and commentary dammit!!
