A Different World, Season 6 Episode 2
βHoneymoon in L.A., Part IIβ
In this episode of A Different World, Dwayne and Whitley are celebrating their honeymoon in L.A., during the Rodney King verdict, which acquitted four White officers who beat up King, a Black man, and in which the incident was caught on tape.
In the episode previously, as Dwayne and Whitley were driving around in their convertible, listening to music, Dwayne switches the station to hear the news on the verdict, to which Whitley whimsically said that everyone knows what will be said: GUILTY, for everyone saw the tape. She says that this is America, βLand of Justice for All,β and the country is no longer in Selma, Alabama in 1965. Black people have more freedom and liberty, and basically, justice will be served. She went on to say that the salespeople at the store she bought all her expensive stuff were very nice. Dwayne rebutted:Β βJust because your money is now good at Gucci, the struggle is over?β
As the episode progresses, Whitley gets a dose of what Dwayne was illustrating when she goes into an electronic store, where every television is broadcasting the verdict, and to Whitleyβs surprise, mentions that the officers have gotten away Scott free. She converses with another Black woman as they watch:
WHITLEY: How can they acquit them? It was on tape. We all saw it.
WOMAN: Girl, please. They can beat us, kill us, do whatever they want to do, and get off just like they always have.
WHITLEY: We still have the Constitution to protect us.
WOMAN: When that piece of paper was written, African people in this country were slaves⦠All of us. We sisters were considered nothing but bed warmers.
WHITLEY: We have our rights now. Well, theyβre not gonna deny me. Iβm an African American.
WOMAN: Dear Miss Lamb Chop, stop worrying about integrating and being accepted and start thinking about buildingβfor yourself, for our peopleβ¦ so that that we can provide a future for our children.
When Whitley gets stuck in the mall after it closes early due to the riots and she has nowhere else to go (Dwayne is dealing with his own issues at that moment), Whitley goes into a clothing store. From there, the above photoset happens, educating Whitley much deeper in the realism White supremacy dictates in this country alone.
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One of the reasons I wanted to highlight this was because it comes very close to home with what we have continuously dealt with in the past few years and CONTINUE to deal with, including the riots that have erupted due to the racial police brutality inflicted on Freddie Gray. Black men and women alike, dying unjustly by the hands of White cops who always somehow feel threatened by the victims. And when we get upset, when we riot, weβre called animals.
We are told this is not the way.
We are reprimanded withΒ βMLK Jr. would have never stood for this,β by White people who are uncomfortable and donβt want us to express our anger (And who know nothing about MLK Jr., might I add, if they have the audacity to say such a thing).
White people continue to focus on the fact that we are destroying our community, while never caring about said community, that was already in distress, before the riots happened.
White people are calling a Black motherΒ βMother of the Year,β for violently beating her son, who was trying to riot, which was caught on tape; in a result to illustrate that the riots are wrong, and she should get praise for getting her son out of it, not realizing sheβs only doing that because she doesnβt want her son to become another hashtag.
White people continue to judge us based on our anger, but will not ask the question: Why are we angry? Why are we rioting? And whatβs worse, and highlighted in the photoset above, is so many White people reap theΒ βbenefitsβ of our struggle. As we loot, THEY loot as well. THEY wish riots like this happen so THEY can obtain the things THEY, themselves, canβt pay for, either. THEY do nothing to contribute to the solutions, and do EVERYTHING to continue the struggles and hardships we endure, whether theyβd like to believe they donβt or not.
So you tell meβ¦ are we truly the problem? Or is it you? What part do you take in helping us when the riots cease? When the news doesnβt plaster another slice of media to illustrate the death or injury of another Black person in the hands of police.
Collectively, how do you help, since you love to tell us what we should be doing?
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