Revolution Televised.pdf

146 That Nigger’s Crazy
’bout, “I am reaching into my pocket for my license, ’cause I don’t want
to be no motherfuckin’ accident.”
Richard Pryor, That Nigger’s Crazy, 1974
Richard Pryor moved back to Los Angeles and sought to discover
his own personal comedic style and to develop characters incorporating
events from Peoria and the language of the streets. This is
evident in his first album, self-titled Richard Pryor (1968), but in
the mildest form. For example, he introduced “Super Nigger,” or
Clark Washington, a mild-mannered custodian, “faster than a bowl
of chitlins,” who has “x-ray vision that enables him to see through
everything except whitey.” 6 He performed in clubs such as New
York’s Village Gate and the Redd Foxx Club in Los Angeles. He
discussed the importance of working in front of black audiences.
It was the right place for me at the right time [The Redd Foxx Club].
With a black audience, I was free to experiment with material that
was more natural. It was frightening, since I didn’t know myself and
had to learn who I was. . . . Yet it was also lovely, comfortable, I
talked about the black man’s struggle to make it in a white world,
which was also my struggle. For the first time since I began to perform
at Harold’s Club, I saw black people laughing—and not just at
cute shit. They laughed at the people I knew. The people they knew.
It was enlightening. 7
Redd Foxx not only gave him the opportunity to experiment
with this new material but also initiated his political awakening.
He told Pryor stories about Malcolm X, and Pryor began to feel
an affinity to the slain leader. “Strangely, I hadn’t been affected by
Malcolm X’s death when it occurred. However, after Redd introduced
me to him as a person and what he stood for, I missed him
terribly.” 8 In 1969, Pryor moved north to Berkeley and went underground,
making few public appearances. He read more of Malcolm
X’s writings and listened to Marvin Gaye’s album What’s Going
On repeatedly. Berkeley was a hotbed of countercultural activity,
including the women’s, student, antiwar, and black movements,
and Pryor immersed himself in this political environment. He was
inspired by Angela Davis, Ishmael Reed, Claude Brown, and the
Black Panther Party and began to look toward his roots to inspire
his comedy. 9
By the time he left Berkeley in 1971, Pryor was ready to intro-