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Jun 26, 2021 · June 26, 2021 Isabelle Lichtenstein. Karen Williams by KEITH FORD. As the first openly lesbian Black comic in the United States to include specifically lesbian material in her act, Karen Williams changed the game for a number of communities. Since then, she’s had a prolific career in comedy.
As a single lesbian mom living in Berkeley in the 1980s, Karen Williams started doing stand-up comedy “because it was something I could do that didn’t cost anything.” Known for her quick repartee, insightful commentary and audience rapport, Williams is a comic craftmaster, a gifted actor, a multitalented writer, and an inspirational lecturer.
- Early Life
- Professional Career
- Identity
- Personal Life
- References
Childhood
Karen Williams’ birth date and birth year are not public knowledge, but what is known is that she was born in the Bronx, NY. Her parents were 18 when they had Karen, and Williams has said that her mother had six kids by the age of 29, giving Williams five other siblings. She has been very open about how her family grew up poor and how that affected her, joking that “if you laugh through dinner, you forget you were supposed to be eating.” At some point in her childhood, Williams’ parents separ...
Higher Education
It is not known what year Karen Williams first went to college, but she attended Cleveland State University, creating a self-determined major in “Humor and Healing,” which focused on the combination of comedy and wellness. She continued her education with CSU from 1995 until 2000, at which point she earned her Master’s in Education, specializing in Adult Learning and Development. While working towards her M.Ed, Williams worked as an adjunct professor and taught a course at CSU on Stand-up Com...
1980s-1990
Karen Williams took the stage in July of 1983. She explained in a documentary how frustrated she was as a Black lesbian woman and a single parent, because no one was talking about her type of life. So, she chose to become the person who would talk about that kind of life. Her first performances were at Bay Area Black comedy competitions, and she continued to work traditional circuits in Oakland for a short time before realizing that the mainstream circuits were not her style. Williams has gon...
1990s-2000
By the 1990s, Williams was gaining attention around the country. Much of her fame was coming out of women’s and queer circuits. In 1991, she was recorded performing at the Womyn’s Music Festival Comedy Day Stage. In 1993 Williams performed at the Northampton Lesbian Festival in Massachusetts, and at the 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation. Also since 1993, Williams has produced the National Women’s Comedy Conference, also known as HotelFest. This confe...
2000s-Present
By the 2000s, Karen Williams put less emphasis on her stand-up (at least based on the lack of information around her during this times) and put much more focus on her work as an activist. That said, her work always centered humor as a vessel for healing, so she never abandoned comedy altogether. Most notably, Williams founded the HaHa Institute. The Institute was technically founded in 1992, but it became central to Williams’ work in the 2000s. The Institute's mission is as follows: In 2009,...
As a queer Black woman, Karen Williams has never shied away from her identity and its impact on her life. Many of her jokes highlight one or more of her intersectional identities, and it shows in both her on-stage and off-stage personality. Williams has been heavily influenced by her identity over the years – it was the reason she moved to women’s ...
Williams was once a model and a serious dancer of African-Haitian and Modern styles. She is currently a committed Buddhist. Karen Williams was previously married to a man (whose identity is not public knowledge). She got a divorce shortly after coming out of the closet and is currently unmarried. She has three children, whom she feels she has benef...
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Known for her quick repartee, insightful commentary, and audience rapport, Karen Williams is unabashedly herself. The nation’s first openly lesbian black comic to include specifically lesbian material in her act, Karen Williams started building her career in the early 1980’s in the San Francisco Bay area.
KAREN WILLIAMS, COMIC, EMCEE, HOST, DIVERSITY TRAINER, MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER AND HUMOR EDUCATOR Karen Williams has the unique distinction of being the nation's first openly lesbian black comic to include specifically lesbian material in her act.
Jul 6, 2006 · The Long Laugh: Comic Karen Williams. Sarah Warn July 6, 2006. 6 minutes read. Karen Williams has been practicing Nichiren Buddhism for 35 years and performing standup comedy for 22. There’s a deep connection between the two vocations. “I got the courage to be out and to be a lesbian comic–and to continue to be who I am as a human being ...
June 11, 2012 | by Jillian Eugenios. Laugh Track: Karen Williams. Humour, Karen Williams, Comedy. Stand-up comic and inspirational speaker, Karen Williams, shares her power with the people (while cracking them up). Karen Williams has been performing stand-up since the 1980s, and she isn’t slowing down.
