We don’t know what’s sadder — that a hilarious sitcom like “A Different World” couldn’t afford to ignore issues like police brutality and racism or that a show that is 30 years old seems to be talking about issues that are happening right outside our window.
So, with everything happening (elections, BLM, you name it), we put our Kaepernick glasses on and take a fresh look at the five episodes that seemed to be looking into a crystal ball at our troubled times.
1. Season 6, Episode 2 — “Honeymoon in L.A.”
What Happened: After hearing that the cops who beat Rodney King on camera were freed, Dwanye is targeted by an overzealous officer for targeted harassment.
What’s Happening: Philando Castille. Sandra Bland. Freddie Gray. We could go on but you know the names.
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2. Season 6, Episode 2 — “Honeymoon in L.A.”
What Happened: Unfazed by the Rodney King verdict, guest star Sista Souljah says “they can beat, kill us, do whatever they want to do and get off just like they always have.”
What’s Happening: David J. Leonard and Stacey Patton at the Root.com wrote this in response to the police killing of Eric Garner: “Photographs of lynchings didn’t foster a shift toward justice. News reports of water hoses and police dogs didn’t compel national outrage from ‘sea to shining sea.’ Even the advent of the camcorder did not produce accountability or a cultural shift in America’s Jim Crow policing.”
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3. Season 5, Episode 14 — “Cat’s in the Cradle”
What Happened: Two white students assault Ron at a game and attempt to spray paint the word “Nigger” on his car.
What’s Happening: In July, Mia Frias-Russell found her car and other structures around her property spray painted with the words “Nigger Go.”
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4. Season 2, Episode 20 — “No Means No”
What Happened: Walter gives Dwayne the DEFINITIVE talk about male responsibility when it comes to consensual sex.
What’s Happening: In May, the hashtag #rapedbymorehouse starts after an anonymous Spelman student tells her story of being raped by four Morehouse students on Twitter.
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TELL US: Which of these moments were your favorite?
