The "Token" Black Friend

We’ve all seen it, in almost every coming-of-age movie or rom-com, the “token” black best friend. This girl is normally outspoken, crazy, carefree, and makes her entire life about her most of the time, white best friend. This character prioritizes her friend's happiness before her own. Growing up as a black girl in predominately white schools I was unsure of my identity or how my personality should be.  I tried code-switching and fitting in but that got tiring. So I aimed for the “token” or “sidekick” black friend like many other black girls in America do today. It wasn’t my parent's fault or anyone around me it was what I saw in the media. My favorite TV shows and movies always consisted of the same type of characters. Throughout the years the token black friend has appeared in some of the American teen's favorites TVshows and movies such as Clueless, Saved By the Bell, Boy Meets World, Good Luck Charlie, etc. all shaped and molded many young women of colors personalities. The token black friend was accepted by everyone, mostly because people feared her or because her caucasian best friend was popular and she hung onto her popularity by her coattails. The token-back friend has been seen as the modern-day Mammy; a person who would rather serve caucasian people than enjoy their own lives. A popular film in the 90s “She’s All That” had stars in it such as Gabrielle Union and Lil Kim, icons in the African American community,  however, both had few lines and when they did it was to praise or bow down to their caucasian popular friend. Neither character had their own storyline outside of being at their friend's beck and call. 

This character teaches young women of color that they are just there to be supportive and not the lead. This friend is used as a pawn or a prop to make the main character seem more interesting. Their lines are often used as “base” lines for the main character. They never have their own life or interests and we rarely see any character development from them in TV shows. Throwing in a black character has been the solution to Hollywood’s idea for “diversity” for years. No matter how stereotypical or misrepresenting the character are it is Hollywood’s way of shutting people up about having all-white casts. Directors and casting agents do the bare minimum to include women of color in popular films that don’t involve poverty, civil rights, or slavery. Author Beverly Tatum states in The Complexity of Identity: Who Am I? “The concept of identity is a complex one, shaped by individual characteristics, family dynamics, historical factors, and social and political contexts” (Tatum 1). This quote explains and supports the idea that an individual's identity depends on several external (environmental) factors. A young female of color may already have her mind made up about her personality until she sees a person on her favorite TV show acting a certain way and now wants to change her personality. Networks like Disney and Nickelodeon did poor jobs in giving women of color different personalities and character roles. There wasn’t one popular show growing up that didn’t include the “token” black friend who barely spoke two words. The female black friends always had bad hair and tacky clothes contrary to her white castmates who had perfect makeup, hair, clothing, and shoes.  Audre Lourde stated in I Am Your Sister “We are not white and we are not a disease” when discussing the treatment of African American lesbians I would like to connect this quote to black women in television. Making a black woman the star of a TV show or movie where she is popular and has several white sidekicks is not going to hurt anyone, in fact, it would uplift the black communities views on black women. Simone De Beauvior says in The Second Sex “At the present time when women are beginning to take parts in affairs of the world, it is still a world that belongs to men- they have no doubt of it at all and women have scarcely any” (Beavior 6). This quote explains one of the main problems inside of Hollywood outside of lack of minority, the lack of women, especially women of color in the Directors chair, at the writing tables, in the casting rooms, etc. Hollywood has a lack of diversity not just on screen but off-screen as well, and that is the problem. 

Works Cited

Tatum, Beverly. “The Complexity of Identity: Who Am I?”.(2000)

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

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