Working While Black

LaToya T. Brackett is an assistant professor of African American studies, and a member of the Race & Pedagogy Institute’s leadership team at the University of Puget Sound. She lives in Tacoma, Washington.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsPreface: Why Black Professionalisms, Why TV and Why Now?Introduction: Defining ­Black-Collar ProfessionalismsPart I—Black Love: Families and FriendshipsBattling Impostor Syndrome: Authenticity, Urban Realities and the Black Bourgeoisie in The Fresh Prince of Bel-AirLaToya T. BrackettABC’s Black-ish: A Critical Analysis of the Black Professional ParentMia L. AndersonBlack Brotherhood, Professionalism and Entrepreneurship as Depicted in Martin, The Wayans Bros. and Malcolm & EddieDavid Stamps“I’m glad I got my girls”: Black Women, Working, Friending and Seeking Love in Fox’s Living SingleLaToya T. BrackettPart II—Publicly Figured CharactersTackling Stereotypes: Portrayals of Black NFL Athletes on The CW’s The Game and HBO’s BallersDarnel Degand#IamMaryJane: Blackness, Womanhood and Professionalism in BET’s Being Mary JaneMalika T. Butler and Kristal Moore ClemonsCapital Codes and Money Moves: The Ironies of Professionalism in EmpireNatalie J. GrahamPart III—Medical ProfessionalsShonda Rhimes’ Grey’s Anatomy and My Year of Saying Yes to EverythingAdelina Mbinjama-GamathamSapphires with Stethoscopes: Black Women Practicing Medicine on TelevisionPhokeng Motsoasele DaileyThe Curious Case of the Black Male Doctor: Character Actualization and Moderate Blackness of ER’s Peter BentonLaToya T. BrackettPart IV—Educators and the EducatedAnti-Blackness and Colorblindness in Post-Cosby Sitcoms: Likeable Black Teachers, Exceptional Black Students but/and Everybody Hates ChrisAmir Asim Gilmore“Dear White People: It truly is A Different World”: Representations of Black Male Faculty in Television SeriesDominick N. QuinneyPart V—Policing and PoliticsNot So Black and White: Race, Police and Double Standards in The ShieldSaravanan ManiMammies, Jemimas, Jezebels and Sapphires: Deconstructing Representations of Black Women Coroners on Crime DramasTammie JenkinsBlack Woman: High-Powered but Not Balanced in ShondalandAdelina Mbinjama-Gamatham and Eleda MbinjamaPart VI—New TelevisionAwkward and Black: Redefining Representations of Black Women on The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl and InsecureRegina M. DuthelyBehind Their Masks: Complex Black Superheroes on the Small ScreenChristopher Alanye CovingtonAbout the ContributorsIndex

“This edited collection studies changes in televisual representations of African Americans, particularly in the 1990s. Focusing on that decade is meaningful because although many scholars have written about The Cosby Show and the like, overall scholarship on Black representation on TV in the 1990s is lacking. Here, essays show that the reality of Black characters on TV is more complex than simple stereotypes, as attested to by the presence of African American professionals, including African American educators, medical professionals, and businesspeople. ...The essays further touch upon the intersection of African American representation and gender representation. ...the essays showcase the experience of being Black and being professionals on television....recommended”—Choice