Making black history with a good joke and a welcoming crowd
'There's more than one way to be a human, especially a black person': Winnipeg comedian Dione Haynes
You don't need to look very far to find black history being made in Winnipeg — you just need to go downtown to the stage of a dark little club on Portage Avenue.
It's the first Tuesday night of the month at the Good Will Social Club. Dione Haynes stands centre stage, glowing beneath the light and takes a sip of water.
"Hello everybody! Welcome to Woke Comedy Hour," Haynes says to the cheering crowd. "How are you all doing tonight?"
The host then dives into the opening set. "It is Black History Month. Leap year. Still the shortest month of them all," Haynes jests.
But Haynes isn't just providing a warm space to laugh on a cold winter night — according to some, Haynes is making black history.
"Dione always comes to mind for me when I think about black people in Winnipeg who are doing really and truly transformative work in the community," says Uzoma Asagwara, an NDP MLA and — as one of the first black MLAs in the province — also someone who's making history.
"I never could have run [for office] and certainly couldn't have run a successful campaign without the support of community and Dione is a big part of the community."
"For me, being able to see the work that Dione's done, it inspired me to also do work in community from a place of service and building community," Asagwara says.
Haynes, along with Issa Black Wolf Kixxen, founded Woke Comedy Hour — a twice-monthly open mic for women of colour, Indigenous women and non-binary people of colour.
They're all welcome to try out their own material, and are assured of a welcoming audience.
I grew up in a household where being gay was for white people.- Dione Haynes
"I knew Dione was doing work specifically around space for QTBIPOC [Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, People of Colour] and really talking about the specific experiences that racialized folks have in this world, in this city" Asagwara says.
"For me, seeing someone doing that work, it really foundationally affirmed the experiences I was going through."
Asagwara first noticed Haynes performing poetry.
"So often in Winnipeg, especially years ago, you would be in different spaces when it comes to the arts, and see very few other black people in those spaces."
Asagwara's first impression was a powerful one — "mysterious, magical."
Sometimes you are laughing through the pain and laughing through the tears.- Uzoma Asagwara
Haynes' energy comes from a lifetime of pushing the norms expected of a black woman.
"I think I've always been pushing," Haynes says. "Realizing that there is more than one way to be a human and especially a black person and a black woman-identified person in Winnipeg.
"I grew up in — and I think a lot of people grew up in — a household, a Caribbean household, where you hear being gay is for white people ... at the time I thought 'okay, I guess.' But then, you know, you live a little and you realize that is not the case."
Haynes made the turn from poetry to comedy as an emotional release.
"I found that there were so many things going on that the rage had no — I felt I didn't know where else this can go," Haynes says. "Like, I do write every day and I love writing. But I also felt like I needed to do something else."
It took Haynes months to work up the confidence to get on stage, but once there, the comedian was hooked.
"The best laugh for me is when there are people in the crowd who also have that experience or similar paired experiences and I know that laugh," Haynes says.
That also resonated with Asagwara.
"Finally, somebody is telling this joke, this way — in a way that really understands what that experience is about, and in a way that respects the realities of how difficult it was," Asagwara says.
"So sometimes yeah, you are laughing through the pain and laughing through the tears. But there's also a level of gratitude in it."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
