Plog Number 204
Growing up black, but seeing TV white
Hello Ploggers, how are you. I hope you are sailing along. As I write this, it is August 1, 2023 and I am really enjoying my summer. I just came back from yoga in the park. My local park has free yoga on Tuesdays in the summer. Tonight’s class was a little harder. That is partly because is takes place on the grass. The area where we do it is on a slight slant too, so you have to have strong arms and legs just to stand and endure. Doing all of the moves is more challenging with your mat on the 🌿 grass.
I want to talk about television. I am admittedly a TV person. I was raised in the 60’s and 70’s and TV was what we did. I had numerous shows that I dearly loved. They are shows that I would not 👀 watch as an adult, but I loved them then. Part of the reason I don’t watch them anymore is that I have grown up, changed and matured. Another reason is that the shows were by omission racist. They had no or very few black characters on the shows. The story matter was totally Caucasian, even when they took place in the historically black South.
The shows I am speaking of, are The Andy Griffin Show, The Dukes of Hazard, Hee Haw, I Dream of Jeannie, and Three’s Company. Try to think of any substantial black characters on any these shows. There were none. In South (or north) Carolina, they were lily white. I am guessing that the writers, producers and Hollywood at the time gave no thought to representing black America. I remember being so excited when shows like Julia, Good Times, Sanford and Son and The Cosby Show came on. It was monumental to see black families doing normal but entertaining things.
Television shows and even commercials have done a total 360 on this particular issue. Every commercial seems to show an interracial 💑 couple with a beautiful mixed race child. We have had both Halle Barry and Denzel to win Oscars. Television shows have starred and co-starred black people. Black people have had their own talk and variety shows. For all of this I am happy. Happy that when my daughter came along and grew up watching 💻 TV, she saw lots of characters that looked like her. She also grew up with a black president. She has experienced the normalcy of the black experience. Amen and RECLAIM!!
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