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TUESDAY

While the debate still rages whether the oppression historically suffered by Jews and African-Americans is at all comparable, journalist Mel Watkins and humorist Rabbi Jack Moline have decided to laugh about it. The authors are putting on a multimedia program called “Laughing to Keep From Crying: A History of African-American and Jewish Humor” to explore the complex cultural and psychological history of African-American and Jewish humor. Watkins will illuminate the crucial influence comedy has had on the way society views African-Americans, and Moline will take a comedic journey into the history of Jewish humor. The program, which incorporates storytelling, stand-up comedy, analysis, film, and lecture, continues an ongoing intercultural dialogue series, “Windows and Mirrors,” co-sponsored by the District of Columbia Jewish Community Center, the African-American Resource Center at Howard University, and Operation Understanding, D.C., and begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Sumner School Museum & Archives, 1201 17th St. NW. FREE. 202-775-1765. (Julie Wakefield)