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A lot has happened in the last 23 years. We got a Black president, smart phones were invented and we saw fit to make four movies about robots who turn into cars.

Another thing that happened was that Black love, specifically HOW Black WOMEN love, became a national conversation on TV and at the movies. And while we might not be social scientists, we’re giving the credit to “Living Single.” Let us make our case.

Check the timeline:

1993 — “Living Single,” a show primarily about four single, Black women living and loving in New York, hits the air (BEFORE “Friends” BTW).

1995 — “Waiting to Exhale,” the gold standard of Black women’s love life on screen, opens in theaters.

1997 — “Love Jones” kicks off the Black romantic comedy genre that births hits like “Love and Basketball,” “Brown Sugar” and eventually Tyler Perry’s kingdom.

Without “Living Single” where would the careers for Nia Long, Sanaa Lathan, Morris Chestnut and Taye Diggs be? The same way REAL Historically Black Colleges and Universities give “A Different World” credit for enrollment spikes, can we really ignore the lasting impact of Living Single on our media’s attention on the romantic lives of Black women?

Need more evidence? May we present into evidence the moment from “Living Single”  that best shows the authentic, genuine messiness of love that made the show so great.

 

(BTW, we totally broke this moment down right here)

TELL US: What do you think the show’s greatest moments are?