More than 1,000 students came out to the Homecoming Comedy Show on Oct. 25 to experience a taste of Hollywood on the campus of Winston-Salem State. Comedians Alex Thomas, Damon Williams, and Michael Blackson, who took the place of Kevin Hart, performed in the K.R. Williams Auditorium to kick off the Homecoming festivities. The entire New Orleans Hornets basketball team also attended, as the show was sponsored their teammate and Wake Forest alum Chris Paul and the CP3 Foundation.
“I’m from Winston [Salem] and have family who attends WSSU,” Paul said. “We do so much for Wake Forest, so we had to support WSSU. I enjoyed every bit of it.”
The show opened up with Damon Williams coming on stage first. He caught the crowd’s attention early and the crowd stayed with him and the other comedians. “Colleges are always fun, especially HBCU’s. If you’re funny, they give it up real big,” said Williams on the crowd’s feedback.
Williams then introduced Michael Blackson. Blackson appeared unexpectedly as a last-minute replacement for Heart.
“I didn’t realize I was here two years ago until I walked through the door and everything looked familiar,” Blackson said.
Many students said they enjoyed the show.
“I thought it was very nice. It is great we are bringing different things to campus and it was pleasing to see students coming together to enjoy an event just like one big family,” said Stanley Johnson.
“I was very satisfied at the fact that we had better comedians than [NC] A&T. It was worth my money,” said Antonia Logan.
“It was nice and the crowd was excellent. The school showed a lot of support,” said Hornets center Tyson Chandler.
After the show, the comedians got a little serious and offered advice to the students on Homecoming.
“Be safe, have fun, and when it’s all over, get back to the books and school. Also, embrace this opportunity in school and take our race to the next level. Our forefathers fought hard for us to get here because it wasn’t as easy for them to attend school, like it is for us now,” Williams said.
“Be safe, stay out of trouble,” Blackson said to the Rams football team. “And beat Delaware State.”