With one week to go until Trump's inauguration, ABC's Black-ish confronted the reality facing many Americans in one of the series' most powerful and memorable moments. Dre (Anthony Anderson), caught in the middle of a work argument about a co-worker's decision to vote for the former Apprentice host, delivered a heartfelt monologue in Wednesday's new episode on what it means to love a country that doesn't always love you back.
"You don't think I care about this country?" Dre told the room during the "Strange Fruit"-soundtracked scene. "I love this country, even though at times it doesn't love me back. For my whole life, my parents, my grandparents, me, for most black people, this system has never worked for us. But we still played ball. Tried to do my best to live by the rules, even though we knew they would never work out in our favor."
In an interview with Variety Wednesday night, Black-ish creator Kenya Barris said he was "even more nervous" about this episode than last year's critically acclaimed one centered on police brutality and Obama's promise of hope. Anderson, in the same interview, said the 2016 election is now forcing issues into the spotlight like never before.
"During this election, I think the veil of what's going on in this country that we rarely talk about—racism, sexism, homophobia, classism—all of that was unveiled," he said. "The veil was just pulled back. There it is in its pure and raw form, bubbling. What does that mean for our society? It will be interesting to see."
