“When you have the microphone, you better have something to say. You may not get it again,” Wood said.
Comedian Roy Wood Jr. has come a long way from his childhood in Birmingham, Alabama, to becoming a prominent figure in the world of comedy. Now, he’s having a breakout moment. This Saturday, he’ll stand before President Biden and other politicians as the entertainer at the White House Correspondents’ dinner — a testament to his talent and impact.
“It’s an honor to speak and crack jokes on top of that, you know, next to the president,” he told CBS News. “But I think it’s an even bigger responsibility to be able to talk directly to the people in the room that are pushing against a lot of the things that keep America from moving forward. Because I think the job of comedian is to be the voice of the regular person.”
Wood was born in New York City, but he calls Birmingham, Alabama, home. He grew up in a neighborhood affected by the struggles of the 1980s, including gang violence and the crack epidemic.
Wood kept on the right path with the help of his mother, Joyce, who worked as a school administrator, and his father, Roy Wood Sr., a renowned journalist and the founder of the first national radio network owned by Black Americans.
