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2 Geo. J. L. & Mod. Critical Race Persp. 257 (2010)
A Barrel of Laughs - Or, a River of Tears: The Problem with African Americans Using Comedy to Air Dirty Laundry

handle is hein.journals/gjmodco2 and id is 285 raw text is: NOTES A Barrel of Laughs? Or, A River of Tears? The Problem with African Americans Using Comedy to Air Dirty Laundry CHRISTINA J. BOSTICK* I. INTRODUCTION Some of the most uncomfortable memories of my childhood revolve around what my grandmother often referred to as my.big mouth. I was a smart, spunky kid with a keen knack for speaking at an early age. People often admired me for being such a well-spoken child; unfortunately, the frequent praise I received encouraged me to talk in spite of my grandmother's criticism and I constantly found myself in trouble. On one particular occasion, I told my cousin's closest friend a family secret that she had taken pains to conceal. I was shocked by her rage and my family's disappoint- ment because, while I knew I shared privileged information, I was unaware that a secret could be such a significant source of grief for an individual or a family-my family. Although everyone seemed to get over the incident quickly (I was still a child after all), I never did. Admittedly, even after the experience with my cousin, there were times I shared confidential information, but my indiscretions were few and far between. I became forever cautious that I might reveal someone's secret in such a way that would damage that individual emotionally, particularly where my family and friends were involved. I also became extremely sensitive to the possibility of my own confidences being violated. And so, I feel personally attacked and severely wounded by African Americans who violate the unspoken contract of confidentiality' by using their privileged positions to disclose private and sensitive information about the secrets knowingly held dear by their own people. Audre Lorde wrote, When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard nor welcomed but when we are silent we are still afraid so it is better to speak remember- * © 2011 Christina J. Bostick. Christina J. Bostick is an African-American woman, a 2010 graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, a 2007 graduate of Spelman College, and a former Editor-in-Chief of the Georgetown Journal of Law & Modern Critical Race Perspectives (MCRP). First, I would like to thank Paloma Hill, Elizabeth Goldblatt, and all of the members of MCRP for their dedication to this article and to the Journal. Second, I must thank all of my family and friends who supported me in the writing of this article including Maudie Thomas, Kristina Joye, Shannon Cumberbatch, and the entire Bostick Family. Special thanks to Professor Daria Roithmayr, whose class ultimately inspired this article and whose guidance through- out my writing process was and is greatly appreciated. 1. I spend a large section of this paper offering evidence that this contract of confidentiality exists. See injra Section II. Further, this introduction is based on my own life experiences and personal opinion, and the topic regarding the unspoken contract of confidentiality is not a widely written about topic.

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