Amidst escalating social tensions in the 1980s, five comedic pioneers—Eddie Murphy, Paul Mooney, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Robert Townsend, and Arsenio Hall—joined forces to revolutionize American popular culture. Known as Hollywood’s “Black Pack,” they weren’t just funny—they were fearless. With iconic projects like In Living Color, Coming to America, and The Arsenio Hall Show, the Black Pack shattered Hollywood norms, using sharp social satire to critique America’s persistent racial inequalities. Their work confronted dehumanizing narratives of Black identity, unapologetically empowered Black voices, and expanded creative possibilities for Black artists in a white-dominated industry. Their alliance transformed anger into art, wielding comedy as a form of resistance while crafting some of the most provocative and enduring cultural productions of the twentieth century.
In The Black Pack, Artel Great delivers the first comprehensive analysis of this groundbreaking collective, uncovering how their innovative socially and politically-charged strategies redefined American comedy. This illuminating study examines their unprecedented commercial success and the systemic barriers they defied, revealing how their cultural legacy continues to inspire new Black creators today.
Contents
Introduction: Black-American Humor and Rituals of Resistance
1 Planet Provocative: Paul Mooney, The Richard Pryor Show & Revolutionary
Laughter
2 Black Star Power: The Economics of Eddie Murphy & the Rise of the Black Pack
3 The Mothership: Hollywood Shuffle & the Arrival of Robert Townsend
4 The Hipness Litmus: The Arsenio Hall Show, In Living Color & Black Pack TV
Coda: Black Resistance Humor into the Afro-Future
Acknowledgments
Notes
Appendix
