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National Museum of African American History and Culture

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Ethel Waters (1896–1977) was a blues singer and actress who was the first African American to star in her own television show and to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.

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By Lori Harwood, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

With the influx of cable networks and digital platforms such as Netflix, there are more opportunities for people to engage with different and more complex stories about the Black experience and for Black people, says scholar Stephanie Robbins Troutman.

It has also been "a primary source of America's racial education," according to University of Arizona scholar Stephanie Troutman Robbins.

Stephanie Troutman Robbins

Troutman Robbins is the co-editor, along with Daniel J. Leonard, of " Race in American Television: Voices and Visions that Shaped a Nation ," published in 2021. Covering five decades, the two-volume encyclopedia explores representations of people of color in American television and examines ways in which television has been a site for both reproduction of stereotypes and resistance to them.

Troutman Robbins is head of the Department of Gender & Women's Studies and an associate professor of gender and women's studies and in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences . She went to film school at the University of Central Florida before earning a dual doctorate in curriculum and instruction and women's studies from Pennsylvania State University, where she incorporated film and visual analysis and critical media literacy in her research. Much of her work examines race, gender and sexuality in relation to both popular culture and schooling.

Q: What are the main ways that TV's depiction of Black people has changed over time?

Early television really reflected a very narrow representation of non-white characters. And a lot of the earlier characters were caricatures and racist depictions in many ways.

Q: In "Race in American Television," you talk about the development of the racially diverse ensemble cast, where race is insignificant to the character or plot, as well as colorblind casting. What are your thoughts on that?

Q: According to UCLA's 2021 Hollywood Diversity Report , the number of Black characters on TV now matches and in some cases exceeds their representation in the general population. However, Black people are still underrepresented among the people shaping the stories, including show creators, directors and writers. Why is this important?

Q: What are some developments you've seen recently in Black representation on TV?

Q. In addition to more Black representation behind the camera, are there other areas that need improving?

I think what we have for kids is lacking. Disney has tried to amp it up with "Coco" and "Moana" and now "Encanto." But we've yet to really see Blackness in that space. With the "Princess and the Frog," the Black princess is a frog for most of the movie! We've got the shows "Doc McStuffins" and "Gullah Gullah Island," but that is from way back (in 1994-1998).

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The evolution of Black representation on television

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Television has served as "a primary source of America's racial education," says UArizona scholar Stephanie Troutman Robbins, co-editor of "Race in American Television: Voices and Visions that Shaped a Nation."

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The Indianapolis Museum of Art Collection

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El Anatsui (Ghanaian, b. 1944), Duvor (communal cloth), 2007, aluminum, copper wire, 13 x 17 ft., Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, Gift of Ann M. Stack in honor of Niloo Paydar, Curator of Textiles and Fashion Arts, 2007.25. © El Anatsui. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, NY..