1. Celebrities…And their
Impact on Race and Racism
By Henry Pflager

2. "Will Smith." Notable Black American Men, Book
II. Ed. Jessie Carney Smith. Detroit: Gale,
2007. Gale U.S. History In Context. Web. 27
May 2012.
 Will Smith is African-American actor and singer who starred in numerous films including Men in Black,
Independence Day, and Ali, and also was the main character in the TV show, Fresh Prince of Bel Air (“Will”).
 From 1987 to modern days, his success demonstrated to American society that a black male could earn awards
all the way from Grammy’s to Oscar Nominations. Hollywood considered him to be “the most powerful man
in Hollywood” in 2007 (“Will”).
 Furthermore, Smith developed “interpersonal skills” from attending a school mainly full of whites—and then a
school almost entirely consisting of blacks—during his youth. Those skills were exemplified during Fresh Prince
of Bel Air, a 1990s show that was not only popular with blacks, but also “mainstream audiences” (“Will”).
Because Smith exemplified those skills to such a large, multi-racial audience, his amicable nature assisted in
effectively eliminating barriers of interracial friendships between whites and blacks—especially among youth.
 Moreover, his friendly nature also demonstrated to society that the tension and anger of the race riots in LA
during the early 1990s did not apply to all African-Americans (Culver). In fact, during the early 90s, Smith was
named the ‘hippest teen on TV’, according to a TV Guide poll (“Will”).

3. Smith, Will. "Papa's Got a Brand-
New Excuse--Episode 97." Dir.
Shelley Jensen.
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Comp.
David Zuckerman. 9 May 1994.
Youtube.com. Web. 28 May
2012.
<http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=PrJQ1YBya0c>.
• In 2008, the Encyclopedia of Race and Racism published an article which summarized that “The
consistent absence of black fathers has been a major issue since slavery. More recently, high
incarceration rates, the difficulties undereducated black men face in the job market, and various
regulations in the welfare system that discourages marriage are among the issues.” (“Families”)
• As the video above indicates, Will Smith’s Fresh Prince of Bel-Air not only drew a connection with the
audience, but, due to the intense emotions displayed by Will, elicited sympathy from the American
society to the current state of African-American families. Due to his aforementioned popularity—
especially among youth—, this video was seen all around America and demonstrated the trials and
tribulations of African-Americans to American society.

4. Reid, Tim, and Tom Dressen.
47th and Drexel Routine. DNS.
Youtube. Web. 20 May 2012.
<http://www.youtube.com/wa
tch?
v=K27f6AM2_hg&feature=relat
ed>.
• As Scott Simon stated, Tim & Tom, the first and last interracial comedy show that continued
into the early 1970s,“broke barriers with laughter” (“The Amazing”). Positing racism as
farcical and satirical, they took an innovative approach “to help Americans confront their racial
divide: by laughing at it” (“The Amazing).
• With comic routines such as 47th and Drexel above, Tom’s white character and Tim’s black
character identified the nonsensical racial prejudices which American society had developed—
and were able to laugh at them too—while maintaining a comedic and friendly nature. As the
video shows above, Tim & Tom exemplified to blacks and whites alike that the racism in society
was simply senseless and comical.

5. "The Amazing True Story of the
First Black and White Comedy
Team in the History
of Show Business. And the
Last." Tim & Tom: An American
Comedy in Black and
White. The University of
Chicago Press, 2008. Web. 28
May 2012.
• However, Tim Reid and Tom Dressen came to the realization that “they were ahead of their
time: America was not yet ready to laugh at its own failed promise” . While many laughed, “the
shock of seeing an integrated comedy team…led to racist heckling, threats, and even
violence”—effectively exemplifying the racist zeitgeist of the 1970s (“The Amazing”).
• Yet, even so, this entertainment show was a foundation for the culminating philosophy that the
racial tensions of American history are simply comedic. Despite the fact that racism eventually
played a role, the show caused society to look at itself to see how the current racist tensions that
had permeated through American society were ludicrous.
• The benevolent nature of Tim & Tom showed Americans that interracial friendships could
definitely exist in society, while posing the possibility of a white man and a black man
cooperating as friends to create a successful comedy show.

6. Deane, Pamala S. "The Jeffersons." St. James
Encyclopedia of Popular Culture.
Ed. Tom Pendergast and Sara
Pendergast. Vol. 2. Detroit: St. James
Press,
2000. 536-37. 2 vols. Gale U.S. History in
Context. Web. 15 May 2012.
• In the 1970s the sitcom, The Jeffersons, “helped set a new tone in prime time television” ,
while being an “enormously popular and highly rated program that lasted 10 years”.
• One of the main characters, George Jefferson, is a rich African-American businessman who
lives with his wife, son, and maid in the wealthy East Side of Manhattan (Deana). The comedic
nature of the show generated comfortability with the idea of a wealthy African-American
family being neighbors to whites and other races.
• Also, the idea of a multiracial family next door—characters named Tom and Helen Willis with
a black child and a white child—posited the reasoning that it is OK for Americans to not only
live near multiracial couples, but also to interracially marry as well.
• If anything, this sitcom succeeded at “ proving that programming with black casts could be
successful and profitable, earning it a significant place in the history of 1970s television.”
(Deana)

7. "Ego." American Decades Primary Sources.
Ed. Cynthia Rose. Vol. 8: 1970-1979.
Detroit: Gale, 2004. 632-36. Gale U.S.
History In Context. Web. 28 May 2012.
• “He is fascinating—attraction and repulsion must be in the same package. So, he is obsessive. The more we don't want
to think about him, the more we are obliged to. There is a reason for it. He is America's Greatest Ego…he is the very
spirit of the 20th Century, he is the prince of mass man and the media”—Norman Mailer on Muhammad Ali after
losing his 1971 bout to Joe Frazier, Life Magazine, 1971. (“Ego”)
• As Ali’s victory against the United States in the Supreme Court Case in 1970 illuminated, he was very defiant against
social expectations for a black boxer—in fact, he became a cultural icon for not only African-Americans, but also
whites (“Muhammad”). The prince of mass man and the media was always an iconic figure; however, he was not given
his rightful recognition in white American society until the late 1990s. In 1970, America was divided when Ali lost to
Frazier: whites were “delighted” while blacks saw it as “disappointing” (“Ego”). Later, however, American society
exemplified progress in regards to racism. Ali’s brazen and gutsy attitude—and skills in the boxing ring—caused the
world and his country to honor Ali at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, when he lit the Olympic torch
(“Muhammad”). In 1999, became the first boxer ever to grace the cover of a Wheaties box (“Muhammad”).
• The recognition of Ali’s greatness as an entire American society indicates that the American society as a whole, not
solely blacks, accepted him as a beloved figure because of his success, while ignoring the obvious racial connotations
associated with Ali. By looking past Ali’s race, society began to show that racism was increasingly becoming part of
U.S history, rather than being a part of the modern world.

8. • For decades in the 20th century, celebrities such Will Smith and Ali, and shows such as Tim
&Tom and The Jeffersons persuaded the white American society to show progress in regards to
accepting diversity. However, such acknowledgement is generally only confined to blacks and
whites. As Todd Lewan writes “Is it possible, they wonder, that this nation — its history
steeped in slavery, terrorism by groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, and illicit eroticism between
black and white — is ready to embrace not just white or black, but shades of brown?”
• Mariah Carey, Tiger Woods, President Barack Obama, Halle Berry, and Derek Jeter—as
shown above: these are all multiracial celebrities which prove that America is ready, and has
already embraced shades of brown in American society. The acknowledgement and widespread
fame of all of them designate the progress of the late 1990s and 21st century; society has not
only accepted black celebrities, but it is also has recognized multiracial celebrities. Americans
have progressed eons in the late 1990s to the 21st century compared to the 20th century
considering race and racism—even enough so that a multiracial president can take office.