Black-ish went there on Wednesday night.
It really, really, really went there.
The ABC sitcom aired an episode titled “Lemons” that took place eight weeks after the Presidential election; so right now, basically.
Instead of pretending as if Anthony Anderson’s character and the others on this critically-acclaimed series live in an alternative universe…
…. And instead of writing a couple throwaway jokes about Donald Trump as President…
The writers steered right into the controversial curve.
And the result was unlike anything we’ve ever seen on television before.
About halfway through the half-hour, Anthony’s Andre is sitting around at work, biting his tongue while co-workers discuss the state of the country.
But he can’t stay silent after his boss asks him why he “doesn’t care about what’s happening to our country?”
The question leads to an incredible monologue that, as you’ll see below, is interspersed with images of African-Americans and their struggles over the years.
“Black people wake up every day thinking our lives are gonna change, even though everything in the world says it’s not,” he says during the speech, adding:
“No matter who won, we didn’t expect the hood to get better, but we still voted because that’s what you’re supposed to do…
“You think I’m not sad that Hillary didn’t win? That I’m not terrified about what Trump’s about to do? I’m used to things not going my way.
“I’m sorry that you’re not and it’s blowing your mind, so excuse me if I get a little offended because I didn’t see all of this outrage when everything was happening to all of my people since we were stuffed on boats in chains.
“I love this country as much – if not more – than you do.”
While reminiscent of a skit that starred Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock on the first Saturday Night Live after Election Night, this scene is not played for laughs.
You can follow this link to watch Black-ish online and find the entire episode to view — and you can check out the amazing scene in question below:
Hand Anthony Anderson an Emmy by midnight! Do you hear me?! #blackish pic.twitter.com/RTl7Y4EziJ
To close the episode, Dre delivers another stirring speech, this one in voiceover fashion.
“I’ve been lucky enough to raise four beautiful children in a world that showed them Jay Z and Beyoncé as king and queen, a black family in the White House, and a woman run and almost win the presidency of the United States,” he says.
“So if you ask me if I love America, the answer is yes. Warts and all. Can it be better? I hope so.
“And I hope that we as a people have it in us to come together and make lemonade out of our lemons.”
Pretty incredible stuff from a sitcom, right?
As you might expect, a certain segment of viewers found the way Black-ish addressed political and racial tension in America to be well done and awe-inspiring.
A certain other segment believed it was ridiculous and despicable for a sitcom to take this kind of approach to a real-life election.
Where do you stand?
What do you think of how Black-ish responded to Donald Trump’s America?
Back when the show first premiered, you might recall, Trump responded to the sitcom’s title with typical over-the-top furor, short-sightedness and absurdity, Tweeting at the time:
“How is ABC Television allowed to have a show entitled ‘Blackish’? Can you imagine the furor of a show, ‘Whiteish’! Racism at highest level?”
Yes, this is an example of not just racism, Donald, but racist AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL.
Sorry, slavery. You’ve been bumped down to second!
“During this election, I think the veil of what’s going on in this country that we rarely talk about — racism, sexism, homophobia, classism — all of that was unveiled,” Anderson told The Chicago Tribune when asked about this controversial episode.
“The veil was just pulled back,” he added. “There it is in its pure and raw form, bubbling. What does that mean for our society? It will be interesting to see.”
Interesting, yes.
That’s one word for it.