Black family imagery and interactions on television

Most people would probably agree with the assertion that &dquo;the family is at once the most sensitive, important, and enduring element in the culture of any people&dquo; (Billingsley, 1968). For it is within the family--the principal socializer―that an individual’s per-sonality and identity are formed and norms and values of particular cultures and subcultures are transmitted. Perhaps because of this central role that the family plays in the socialization of individuals, the family has been of great interest to scholars and laymen alike. Television families have also been of great interest. As Glennon and Butsch (1982) pointed out, many of the more than 200 fictional families that have appeared in &dquo;family series&dquo; since 1946 are known and loved by millions of Americans. The Nelsons (The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet), the Cleavers (Leave it to Beaver), the Bunkers (All in the Family), the Waltons, the Jeffersons, and so forth, have all become a part of our collective history and culture. Black families have been represented in television programming scheduling since the 1950s. This article examines the portrayal of Black family life on commercial television during the 1985-1986 season. Its purpose is twofold: (a) to provide data that, when analyzed in the context of previous studies, will allow for the establishment of a trend of how the Black family has been portrayed on television; and (b) to examine Black family portrayals as a possible model for social learning by children