"ask a slave" addressing historical ignorence with comedy

In Omi and Winant's article Racial Formation they say that "the contemporary racial order remains transient. By knowing something of how it evolved, we can perhaps better discern where it is heading." In a recent youtube series by actress and comedian Azie Mira Dungey, she deals with both the past and present in one comical sweep. Her series "Ask a Slave" deals primarily with the time that she spent working as a historical re-enactor at Mount Vernon, George Washington's home. She says that because she was black she was placed as a slave in the house, and while she was paid well for her work, "all the same, I was having all these experiences, and emotions. Talking to 100s of people a day about what it was like to be black in 18th Century America. And then returning to the 21st Century and reflecting on what had and had not changed." So, she chose to deal with these feelings by addressing stupid, ignorant, and infuriating questions that she was asked while working as this character. Both the questions asked and the reasons behind the inception of the videos show a lack of historical context and awareness. Instead of getting angry, Dungey uses her comedy as atool, teaching about the old and redefining for herself her role as a slave re-enactor.