Black Excellence in TV Shows Throughout The Years

In this post I would like to take a moment away from recognizing the wrong in representation of black women in TV shows and movies and shine some light on the TV shows and movies that do or did an amazing job showing black excellence. We all know in the 90s black excellence on television was at its peak shows like Family Matters, Living Single,  The Bill Cosby Show, Moesha, A Different World, Sister Sister, etc. All of these shows gave the black community the break they were looking for, finally the community was able to see two parent households, middle class and upper class, educated, and talented people of color. In the 2000s shows such as Girlfriends, The Bernie Mac Show, The Parkers, etc. In the 2010s we received shows such as Scandal, Hit the Floor, The Game, Dear White People, Blackish, etc. Living Single is what many people refer to as the black version of the hit TV show Friends, even though it aired first. It consisted of a group of successful black friends who were all educated and living stable lives. They embraced black culture and authentic black beauty. Women and men of every skin tone were seen in the cast and throughout the show. None of the main characters were drug addicts, single mothers, ignorant, or any other negative stereotype that so many people of color have received throughout the years. Shows like Living Single and A Different World also embraced black love. It was a sigh of relief to see a black man on TV being madly in love with a black woman; showing her the respect and affection that she deserved. At one point Dwayne and Whitley as well as Overton and Synclaire were everyone's “relationship goals”.  Robyn M. Boylorn stated in her article “What Does Black Masculinity Look Like?” “I wish there were more examples of Black men fiercely loving, fiercely defending, and fiercely holding down Black women who don’t carry them in their wombs, but do carry them on their backs sometimes” (Boylorn). The men that Robyn is describing were the men in these 90s sitcoms, unapologetically and openly loving and honoring his significant other. Shows like these that had two parent households with successful parents showed that Black community that they too could have and accomplish “The American Dream” with the white picket fence. These shows proved that black people were capable of being educated and successful without working for a white family or being a white person's sidekick. It was refreshing to see all black casts. The 90s and 2000s  shows are timeless. I still want to be like Maxine from Living Single and Joan from Girlfriends when I am their age; successful, powerful black women. Shows in the 2010s such as the game showed people of color in luxury, the men played in the NFL and their wives, girlfriends, and mothers were also successful in their own lives. They lived in big houses, got amazing business deals and endorsements, drove the nicest cars, etc. Shows like this showed people of color that it was also possible to live in luxury unapologetically. Blackish is the perfect example of an amazing television family in modern day television; a two parent household where both parents have amazing careers, educated and successful children, and love and respect is shown within the home. Audre Lorde states in “I Am Your Sister” “Black women are not one great vat of homogenized chocolate milk” (Lourde 1). These shows did an excellent job of showing the different personalities, lifestyles, and careers of black women instead of categorizing them as the same type of person. Simone De Beauvoir states in The Second Sex “People have tirelessly sought to prove that woman is superior, inferior, or equal to man” (Beauvoir 6). With the great representation of equality and respect these shows did not show the man overpowering the household or not considering his wife's opinion on things. Instead both the male and female shared equal respect between everyone in the show. In Closing, these shows have done and are doing an amazing job of representing people of color. 

Works Cited

Boylorn, M. Robyn. “What Does Black Masculinity Look Like?” (2017).

Lourde, Audrey. “I Am Your Sister” (1985).

Beauvoir, Simone De. “The Second Sex” (1949)