Dick Gregory is speaking at the State of the Black Union in New Orleans!! CSPAN now!!

[TexasObserver]

CSPAN now!!

He's showing why he was America's first dynamic political black comedian, and his incredible insights. His comments are valuable to this primary season, and is relevant to both the campaigns and the dialog here about them.

This man has been a stalwart for the past 40 years, and next to MLK and Malcolm X, the most dynamic speaker on black issues the past 50 years.

[TexasObserver]

1. Nobody knows the OG, Dick Gregory?

[tishaLA]

2. Yeah but there's another thread

[TexasObserver]

5. I suppose I missed it. Let me go looking. I glanced at the board and didn't see it.

And I wanted people to see Dick Gregory at his best. He's really something.

[John Q. Citizen]

9. Dick Gregory is great. I remember hearing a speech he gave back in the early 80's at UCSC in

Sta. Cruz, and he was so prescient on what happened in the last 30 years.

He is truly one of America's best.

[TexasObserver]

11. Do you remember his hunger strikes for various causes?

He had one that saw him lose down to about 100 lbs.

The man is a LION, a true hero and legend.

I just wanted to see he got his props here. We wade knee deep in crap daily, and I wanted to lift him up for a moment and see his name among the food fight threads.

[John Q. Citizen]

18. I certainly do. He talked about hunger strikes in his speech as a matter of fact. He said,

'People send me letters, and say, how can you risk your health like that, you have a family...
I find that strange. When I weighed 280 pounds, was smoking 2 packs a day and drinking a fifth of Scotch a day nobody wrote me letters saying 'what about your family?'

He is a legend.

Spike Lee should do his biography while he's still among us.

[TexasObserver]

22. I would love to see a Spike Lee joint called GREGORY.

He's awesome, and I wasn't sure anyone here under 40 would know who he is.

Much love to Dick Gregory.

[Cha]

21. I remember Dick Gregory from his

juice fasting in the '70's..I really never knew about the political aspect since I didn't get into the politics of life until 2000.

But, I'm thinking all that healthy living has paid off for him..being 75(not that that is old) and all..

[TexasObserver]

24. Dick Gregory was way ahead of the pack on eating right as the secret to health.

Most people fear things that won't kill them, like terrorists and invasion robbers.

The person who is probably going to kill us is the one we see in the mirror, the one who puts stuff in our mouth we shouldn't have.

[Cha]

26. Very astute!

:toast:

[TexasObserver]

28. You can thank my adult children. I've got vegans, macrobiotics & vegetarians.

They've whipped my ass into line. Got me drinking water, eating 12 grain bread, and avoiding potatoes ("Dad, they're poison!!)

[Cha]

35. I love it..I've been in the

"biz" for more than 30 years and it's very heartwarming to see how far this whole country has expanded in that area. I was in California when I started and now I'm in a little town in upstate New York where our non profit co-op(they started in '75) has progressed so much and gotten so busy that it's phenomenal.

It's the best investment one can make..good on your kids!

[kid a]

3. i don't know about the punch line of that joke...but i guess tavis summed it up..artistic freedom

[TexasObserver]

16. you mean the Kobe thing?

[kid a]

20. yea...it was funny, but the message?

[TexasObserver]

25. I would have edited that out, but he was on a roll.

not really appropriate, but I focus on the other things he did say

[blogslut]

4. That was a hell of a thing

I would repeat what he said but I would just make myself a fool.

He told them. He told them all.

[kid a]

6. i get the joke...

[TexasObserver]

7. When his humor turned "too real" 40 years ago, his mainstream humor gigs ended.

America wasn't ready for Lenny Bruce, and it really wasn't ready for Dick Gregory, but he laid the foundation for Richard Pryor and others who followed after him.

His commitment to goodness for all people is legendary, and should be talked about more.

I've always been a big fan of his, and that ten minutes of solid gold is why.

[NDambi]

8. I love DG...he keeps it real..

[TexasObserver]

13. Love the avatar! And love me some Boondocks.

It's an incredible cartoon, and has plowed entirely new ground.

[NDambi]

19. Boondocks Rocks!!!!

[TexasObserver]

27. Gangstlicious = Mos Def. Macktastic = Snoop Dog. Gin Rummy = Samuel Jackson.

My favorite character is Jebediah Freeman.

Love Huey and Riley, of course.

Uncle Ruckus? Holy shit!

[JimGinPA]

10. HE KILLED!!!

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

[TexasObserver]

12. I started to say that, but because so many might not get it, decided against it.

So I opted to change it to something more laudatory.

[TexasObserver]

14. Donna Brazil is on now, and she's giving him props.

[blogslut]

15. Donna Brazille made me cry

Wow

[TexasObserver]

17. I'm a super delegate, but I don't wear a cape!

[H2O Man]

23. In the early 1980s,

Dick Gregory said that the United States was having difficulty dealing with the Islamic world, because the US never had understood Malcolm X.

(Note: Dick supported Rubin Carter's struggle for justice in the 1970s and '80s.)

[TexasObserver]

30. It's a crying shame Malcolm X was killed. He had much for all of us to learn.

I thought Spike handled that pretty well in his film, too.

[H2O Man]

34. It's a wonderful movie.

There are many, many good books; the Spike Lee and other films; and even old LPs of Malcolm's speeches. But I must admit that I sometimes find myself wishing that Malcolm were around today, to go onto the cable news shows and speak the truth.

[grantcart]

29. "NIGGER": an autobiography was the first thing that woke me up in a

goldwater home when I was 14.

The subtitle was "Mom if you ever hear that word you know they are advertising my book".

[TexasObserver]

32. I know you mean the 1964 book by Dick Gregory, but some will think the 2002 book is your subject.

You might want to educate our young members about Dick Gregory's excellent book.

[grantcart]

36. happy to

Gregory’s autobiography, Nigger, was published in 1963 prior to The assassination of President Kennedy, and became the number one best-selling book in America. Over the decades it has sold in excess of seven million copies. His choice for the title was explained in the forward, where Dick Gregory wrote a note to his mother. "Whenever you hear the word ‘Nigger’," he said, "you’ll know their advertising my book."

and here is more on his life

http://www.dickgregory.com/about_dick_gregory.html

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

31. Change your title to **Official CSPAN SOTBU thread**

Or, is it too late to change?

[TexasObserver]

33. Too late, but I did try. Thanks.

[tishaLA]

37. Wow that Stephanie woman...the young woman from

Dillard (?) was just astonishing. .

[TexasObserver]

39. she was good

[tishaLA]

38. Rev Sharpton just LAID INTO Sen Clinton

for changing the rules, for being unfair, etc. And he said it right to Sheila Jackson Lee. I love both of them, but I do agree with Rev Sharpton

[jasmine621]

40. Hillary hasn't changed any rules. She doesn't have the power to change the rules.

She does have the right to fight for her own nomination and to seek redress within the rules. Al is one of my heros but he is pandering to the audience right now.

[TexasObserver]

44. Al Sharpton is nobody's fool.

he sees what they did, and he doesn't like it

[TexasObserver]

41. Dick Gregory is rolling again!!

[NDambi]

42. He's off the chain..lol...I'm over here in tears...

[TexasObserver]

43. That point he made about malt liquor bears checking out.