Review Of The Jeffersons Television Series

I have been thinking about the Jeffersons television series lately. I watched a lot of television growing up. The reality is that while my mother was scrubbing floors and raising other people’s children, television was raising me. In this context the images of people from my community was important to how I thought that I could function in this society.  As a child you have to figure out which spaces you can occupy until you are conscious enough to create your own space. The Jeffersons was one of the crucial shows. It was about a dark man who worked his way out of the hood by running his own dry cleaners. George Jefferson was loud and obnoxious, but he was also competent and confident. George had 7 cleaning stores by the time the show ended, which he ran from his private office. Louise Jefferson was responsible for George’s rise. She did house work while he created the first store in his dry cleaning empire.  George never forgot about what Louise did for him no matter how large he grew. She never had to work another day. Louise deserved to her last days in leisure, but she did not do that. Louise volunteered at the Help Center where she helped other people who were still in poverty. I am in contact with a lot of educated dark people and a few of them are willing to make minor contributions, but none as much as Louise Jefferson. The whole point of slaves becoming free is to help free others. Selflessness is such a simple concept that too few understand. As I look at television today I cannot find one dark character that teaches a positive lesson. The Jeffersons television series has become more important as the quality of dark characters on television has declined.