# Explain this Black Jeopardy joke **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 26, 2017, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-black-jeopardy-joke/799887 "2017-10-26T13:51:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-black-jeopardy-joke/799887/1 "2017-10-26T13:51:01Z")
Link: [Black Jeopardy with Tom Hanks - SNL - YouTube](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O7VaXlMvAvk) At about the 2:45 mark, the answer is “Caitlyn Jenner says she wants to be on the cover of Essence magazine”. Keeley (correctly) answers “What is mmm, I don’t know… you can’t do _everything_!” So far so good, I get it. Jenner has been a man and a woman but so far as I know not black. But then Darnell says, “That’s right, but there was a time though.” Keeley agrees. And then Doug says, “Oh yeah, I remember”. What “time” are they referring to? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-black-jeopardy-joke/799887/2 "2017-10-26T13:54:22Z")
The era when blackface was considered acceptable/funny? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-black-jeopardy-joke/799887/3 "2017-10-26T14:40:25Z")
My vote is: "But when he was a Gold Medal athlete doing all 10 Decathlon events, and a fine piece of Man on a Wheaties Box, I thought he could do everything. " ??? ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-black-jeopardy-joke/799887/4 "2017-10-26T15:18:25Z")
I think he’s referring to the Obama presidency. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-black-jeopardy-joke/799887/5 "2017-10-26T15:29:39Z")
Thanks for the answers so far but I don’t see how blackface or Obama could put Jenner on the cover of Essence. [sup](Unless Jenner performed in blackface and I don’t know about it.)[/sup] ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-black-jeopardy-joke/799887/6 "2017-10-26T16:04:48Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Thanks for the answers so far but I don’t see how blackface or Obama could put Jenner on the cover of Essence. > > [sup](Unless Jenner performed in blackface and I don’t know about it.)[/sup] I don’t see what Jenner _actually_ having performed in blackface has to do with it. The joke is about Jenner being all over the press, seeming like she can do _everything_. But the one thing she _can’t_ do is turn black. Then, on reflection, they realize there was a time… and they turn to the oldest guy in the room for confirmation, a guy who might be old enough to remember blackface. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-black-jeopardy-joke/799887/7 "2017-10-26T16:35:28Z")
I see the point. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-black-jeopardy-joke/799887/8 "2017-10-26T16:37:03Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > I think he’s referring to the Obama presidency. The episode aired right before the election (which made the Tom Hanks character so funny and almost palatable), when everyone thought Hillary was going to win, so that’s not it. I vote for “decathlon” winner. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-black-jeopardy-joke/799887/9 "2017-10-26T16:54:11Z")
The “decathlon” thing doesn’t make any sense. The gag is based on Jenner seeming to be unstoppable _now_, reinventing herself and all over the press _now_. Not that her abilities are diminished now that she has retired from athletics - quite the reverse. _Except_ that she can’t turn black, a requirement for getting on the cover of _Essence_. (Which is hardly something being a white male decathlete would help you with, anyway.) I don’t think it’s a good joke, but I have no doubt that it’s about blackface. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-black-jeopardy-joke/799887/10 "2017-10-26T17:43:24Z")
My 2¢: Blackface. “He/she could have been black at one time.” Redneck replies “Oh, yeah. . . I remember the good ole days.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-black-jeopardy-joke/799887/11 "2017-10-26T17:55:43Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > The “decathlon” thing doesn’t make any sense. The gag is based on Jenner seeming to be unstoppable _now_, reinventing herself and all over the press _now_. Not that her abilities are diminished now that she has retired from athletics - quite the reverse. > > _Except_ that she can’t turn black, a requirement for getting on the cover of _Essence_. (Which is hardly something being a white male decathlete would help you with, anyway.) I thought that was the joke: that, after pretty much dismissing the idea out of hand, he grants that there was a time – back in '76 – when Jenner was so amazingly cool that the owner of Essence Magazine _maybe_ would’ve said, “The cover? Could be.” ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-black-jeopardy-joke/799887/12 "2017-10-26T18:27:59Z")
“After this we’ll play the national anthem and see what the hell happens” So prescient that this joke still works today. Also, what a great sketch…Black Jeopardy’s best by far ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-black-jeopardy-joke/799887/13 "2017-10-26T18:39:45Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > “After this we’ll play the national anthem and see what the hell happens” > > So prescient that this joke still works today. Also, what a great sketch…Black Jeopardy’s best by far Yep, this one has been the best so far; the one w/ Louis CK is good too. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-black-jeopardy-joke/799887/14 "2017-10-26T22:36:01Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I thought that was the joke: that, after pretty much dismissing the idea out of hand, he grants that there was a time – back in '76 – when Jenner was so amazingly cool that the owner of Essence Magazine _maybe_ would’ve said, “The cover? Could be.” Given the two competing theories I’ve come to believe it’s this one. Doug is not old enough to remember blackface. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2017, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-black-jeopardy-joke/799887/15 "2017-10-27T00:54:09Z")
Yeah, I don’t even know. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2017, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-black-jeopardy-joke/799887/16 "2017-10-27T01:05:11Z")
I just watched the clip. Darnell just says “I mean, there was a time”. That’s a bit vaguer than the quote in the OP. I’m going to break from the crowd and posit that “there was a time” is an expression of longing for the good ole days. As in, “There was a time when Essence was a magazine for and about black people, but now we have white folks thinking they get to be on the cover.” Or “There was a time when we used to tell attention whoring weirdos to sit down somewhere and STFU, but now we have to pretend they are normal.” These are not politically correct expressions. It wouldn’t be funny if Darnell said these things. But “There was a time” allows you to insert whatever you want and then laugh as Doug cosigns it. ---
**Author:** ![brossa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brossa/32/3040_2.png) [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2017, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-black-jeopardy-joke/799887/17 "2017-10-27T19:22:36Z")
I’m with **monstro**. I took it as a more conservative take on the matter: back in the day a man was a man, a smoke was a smoke, a phone call cost a dime, etc., but now it’s all gone mad. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2017, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-black-jeopardy-joke/799887/18 "2017-10-27T23:09:25Z")
She could always _identify_ as black. I mean, it worked for Rachel Dolezal. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2017, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-black-jeopardy-joke/799887/19 "2017-10-27T23:44:06Z")
For certain values of “worked” ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2017, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-black-jeopardy-joke/799887/20 "2017-10-28T00:00:32Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I just watched the clip. Darnell just says “I mean, there was a time”. That’s a bit vaguer than the quote in the OP. > > I’m going to break from the crowd and posit that “there was a time” is an expression of longing for the good ole days. As in, “There was a time when Essence was a magazine for and about black people, but now we have white folks thinking they get to be on the cover.” Or “There was a time when we used to tell attention whoring weirdos to sit down somewhere and STFU, but now we have to pretend they are normal.” > > These are not politically correct expressions. It wouldn’t be funny if Darnell said these things. But “There was a time” allows you to insert whatever you want and then laugh as Doug cosigns it. First, I respect monstro’s perspective. Second, I did not purposely misrepresent Darnell’s words. I just quoted it as best as I remembered it. But to monstro’s point, I’m not getting it. Keeley says ‘you can’t do everything’. Darnell says ‘there was a time’. To me that means there was a time she could have made the cover. Opposite of what monstro is positing