Comedian Roy Wood Jr. will headline Just City’s 10-year celebration, Stand Up with Just City, on June 8th at Minglewood Hall from 6 to 8 p.m.
The Birmingham-born comic is known for his political correspondence on The Daily Show, comedy specials, and production of the PBS documentary The Neutral Ground, among other projects. Wood is set to perform stand-up as Just City celebrates 10 years of impact and criminal justice reform.
“I’m thankful to be a part of this and to be able to come there and see it and action,” Wood said. “It’ll be a beautiful thing and I look forward to it.”
The Memphis Flyer spoke with Wood Jr. prior to the event about the importance of comedy, navigating tough topics, and more.
Memphis Flyer: Was there anything about Just City’s mission of social justice reform that stood out to you or intersected with your personal beliefs?
Roy Wood Jr.: At The Daily Show I’ve had an opportunity to cover a number of social issues, and when they came to me about being a part of what they’re doing, to me it was a no-brainer. I feel like what they do is worthwhile.
The two causes I tend to take up in Birmingham where I’m from are illiteracy and youth sports. Well, literacy — I’m not pro-illiteracy. When I look at what [Just City] is trying to do, to me it’s like, ‘Okay, well, y’all do cool stuff, too. I’ll come over there and be a part of that.’
You mentioned your time on The Daily Show. How did your time on the show shape the way you consumed politics and discussed it with your audience?
The Daily Show wired me to try and find the funny in something first, which I think is important when you look at all of the different ways and reasons you could be mad everyday in this world. The Daily Show kind of helped me with the muscle of sarcasm, which is a really good thing.
I think if you’re not looking for it, it’s hard to know and see what everyone else is going through and being affected by in this world. The Daily Show kind of helped to open my eyes, if you will, to what’s going on.
What made you lean into using your real-life run-ins with the law into some of your material?
When I got arrested, my stuff wasn’t necessarily a social injustice. I got lucky, you know; I got probation for stealing some credit cards and I probably should’ve gotten jail time but didn’t. It made me a bit of an advocate to a degree. I ended up doing a show called Jefferson County Probation on Comedy Central. It was a pilot — never went to series — which was about the idea of probation officers because we talk about recidivism and that’s something needs reworking. That was kind of a huge thing.
That’s always been something I’ve tried to infuse in my comedy a little bit, but I try not to live in one topic because there’s a lot of different injustices going on in the world — crazy to say.
We’ve had some pretty tough headlines here in Memphis lately. You’ve navigated lots of heavy topics through comedy and commentary. What advice do you have for people to stay informed without feeling overwhelmed?
I think it’s important for people to turn off the news from time to time. That’s what I do. I think it’s very important, every now and then, to just not consume that type of content and find things that make them happy and connect with friends
My last hour-special for Hulu [Lonely Flowers] is about loneliness and the idea that we don’t connect with people as much as we should. To me, that’s as important as anything else if I’m being honest. I encourage people to do the same. My first three hour-specials were about the world around us and the craziness within it, but I also decided to do a special that didn’t have politics.
Is there anything that reminds you why comedy is important during tough times?
Comedy matters because sooner or later you need a laugh. You have to think of a laugh as a stress fart. If you don’t fart, sooner or later you’re going to explode. I feel the same way about laughter as it relates to stress. I hope everybody comes out to the event and farts with their mouth.