David Person

As an African-American Southerner, let me assure singer Brad Paisley that I'm not among those who were offended by his joke at the Country Music Association Awards. Not only was it not racist, it was actually a smart poke at the perception of country music as an all-white conclave of artists and fans.

For those who missed the joke, here's what Paisley said: "If you were looking for Black-ish tonight, yeah, this ain't it. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy White-ish."

Black-ish is the new ABC hit show that normally is broadcast on Wednesday nights. It's about an upper-middle-class African-American family and stars Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross. The fact that Paisley, who co-hosted the CMAs with Carrie Underwood, told the joke before Darius Rucker, an African-American country star, took the stage may have amped up the Twitter controversy that ensued.

Unlike R&B or hip-hop, country always has been dominated by white performers. Aside from Rucker, the biggest black names in country have been Charley Pride and Ray Charles, the R&B/pop/jazz legend who pleasantly surprised many music fans with his 1962 country hit, I Can't Stop Loving You.

But there has been a steady stream of lesser-known black country music performers for decades. Some of their stories were told in the CMT documentary, Waiting in the Wings.

In fact, the instrumental backbone of bluegrass music — the banjo — originated in Africa. Country, like rock, jazz, the blues and gospel, owes a debt to the African slaves who brought that stringed instrument with them during the dangerous Middle Passage.

I grew up in Chicago listening to rock, funk, R&B, pop and jazz, but also became a fan of 1970s country stars such as Rita Coolidge, Kris Kristofferson, Linda Ronstadt, Kenny Rogers, Anne Murray and the great Willie Nelson. Since moving to Alabama, I've added the Dixie Chicks and Vince Gill to my list of country music favorites, along with crossover artists such as k.d. lang, Lyle Lovett and Taylor Swift.

The Paisley joke is a great example of the confusion many people have about the difference between talking about race and actually being racist. Pointing out a perception of a white-ish music genre or a black-ish television show isn't racist. But telling a major African-American singer that he should leave country music to "white folks" certainly is. And that's just what a fan tweeted to Rucker last year.

That poor fan needed a history lesson. Hopefully by now, he's learned about Pride, Charles and other blacks who helped make country music what it is today.

So I give Paisley props for humor and insight. His joke was an ironic reminder that country music doesn't look much like the rest of America right now — and perhaps a nudge that it needs to give more aspiring black country music stars the same chances Rucker, Pride and Charles got. Far from being racist, what Paisley said was actually funny, brave and true.

David Person hosts WEUP Talk on WEUP 94.5 FM/1700 AM in Huntsville, Ala., is a 2013 Marguerite Casey Foundation Journalism Fellow, and is a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors.

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