The Boondocks

The Boondocks is one of my favorite shows on television today. It is actually one of the only shows I watch because I don’t watch much TV. When I first started watching the show, I never really paid attention to the message being sent in the shows (because I was young) and often only watched the show for laughs. Indeed it is a comedy but there’s much more to it.

As I matured and talked to my dad more about life and our life as black people, I then realized the messages in the show. The main character of the show is Huey (I’ve heard the name came from a man named Huey P. Newton ) and I believe he shows the characteristics of the man himself. Then there’s Huey’s brother Riley.

Basically the show discusses the issues in the black community today and why we as the black race need to approach it. In the show Huey is a very educated individual that recognized the problems in the black community but when he tries to address them, he is often ignored. This is another problem the black community is having. Some of us are apathetic and blind to what is in-front of our faces. Also known as ignorant and that’s why I use the term “nigga” to describe them. Many people believe it’s a hateful word but you can’t terminate the word if they still exist.

Riley plays the character of a “nigga in the making.” He has the mentality of a “hood nigga” and lives for that kind of stuff. It’s quite obvious even at the young age of eight. That’s another problem that needs to be addressed in the black communities. The early makings of young, ignorant black kids.

So really I’m writing this article to express the problems we have in the black community and how the show addresses the issues. Yes, the show is funny but I’d like people to look behind the humor and see and understand the important messages the show has to give.