How does the Boondocks relate to the Black Community?
The Boondocks is a cynical cartoon depicting the lives of a black family that moved into the suburbs of Woodcrest, Maryland. Originally a comic strip by Aaron McGruger, it presented the black community’s different facets. It’s an insight into the political and social issues that impacted the lives of black people and how we think.
The characters are an intelligent radical left-wing revolutionary Huey Freeman, the narrator of the show. His younger brother is Riley who is a juvenile delinquent that is influenced by trap culture. Their legal guardian is their grandfather Robert Freeman, a cantankerous old man. Other characters include Uncle Ruckus, Tom, Sarah, Jazmine Dubois, Thugnificent, Ed Wuncler III, and Gin Remy. Each character is a facet of black people in the black community.
Huey is a politically aware, intelligent revolutionary and is portrayed as a left-wing radical. Despite his political views not being as radical as people perceive. He is derived from Huey P. Newton, an iconic political activist who founded The Black Panther Political Party.
Riley Freeman is the polarizing opposite of Huey Freemen. He is a representation of today’s urban youth who are influenced by trap culture. He idolizes rappers such as Thugnificent who promote drugs, sex, violence, misogyny, and degenerate behavior. Riley uses profane language, hates school, and does not desire a legitimate career.
Robert Freeman represents the older generation of the black community who lived in the Civil Rights era. Robert reminds us of our grandfather or uncle who believes in strict discipline and is extremely prideful.
Uncle Ruckus is a representation of self-internalized racism in the black community. He believes that he is white and suffers from “re-vitiligo” and is a white supremacist. He is the negative stereotype of African Americans created in the 1920s, but he is not to be fully blamed since he is a product of his own environment.
Tom Dubois is a successful black attorney. The irony of this character is that he works with the judicial system that oppresses his own people. He steers away from his own culture and fits in with white society, he is married to a white woman and has a biracial daughter. He is labeled as a non-threatening black man.
Jazmine Dubois is Tom’s nine-year-old biracial daughter. She is naive, innocent, and gullible and is a perfect target for Riley to pick on. She often clashes with Huey because they are exceptionally different. I believe Jazmine represents the identical crisis of what biracial people endure in the black community. The “too black for white people and too white for black people “ trope correlates with this character.
Thugnificent is the typical rapper in trap culture. He raps about drugs, sex, and money and lives a lifestyle that young boys such as Riley look up to. Thugnificent is a reminder of today's rappers.
Ed Wuncler III and Gin Remy depict how non-black people emulate black culture. They imitate the negative stereotype of a black man as they commit crimes such as robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault, and terrorist attacks and uses the n-word freely. They get away with these heinous actions because they are white and privileged.
The episodes of the Boondocks are satires that are based on real events or scenarios that are common amongst black people.
The Trial of R Kelly
This episode portrays one of the most noteable divisions within the black community. Those who support R Kelly and believe that he is innocent and the others who believe that he is guilty and should be in jail. Tom Dubois is the attorney prosecuting R Kelly and believes that the judicial system will do the right thing, but Huey warns him that he should not underestimate black people’s overwhelming support for R Kelly. In the end, R Kelly is found not guilty and as people celebrate his innocent Tom is defeated. Huey goes in front of the courtroom and delivers a monologue that not all black people who are arrested are always innocent and that people should help R Kelly by providing counseling and introducing him to older women. He is ignored and they proceed to celebrate, in the end of the episode Huey narrates, “You do what you can to help black folks, and they make you wonder why you even bother.”
The Return of the King
This episode is an alternate reality of Martin Luther King after he was shot in Memphis, Tennessee, instead of dying from his gunshot wound he wakes up from his thirty-year coma. Once he wakes up he realizes how much his people have changed and he hosts a political party emergency meeting that is hijacked by hustler, preachers and belligerent people. Dr. King is disgusted by the actions of the crowd and delivers a speech reprimanding the crowd. “King looked out on his people and saw that they were in great need, so he did what all great leaders do. He told them the truth.” In his speech, he tells them that they are living contradictions, lazy, and judge one another and that they have nothing to celebrate due to their belligerent actions. After delivering his speech he moves to Canada and dies.
Thank You for Not Snitching
At the beginning of the episode, Huey describes the “No Snitching culture” in the black community. “It’s no secret that black people are culturally inclined against snitching.” I believe black people refuse to talk to the police because of two reasons: the police lack to protect the ones who come forward and the long history of police brutality towards black people and how the judicial system oppresses us. This “No Snitching Movement” is pushed by rappers. Despite this, they tend to implicate themselves in their songs. An example of this is rapper Tay-K’s hit song “The Race” in 2017. He was wanted for capital murder at sixteen years old. Prosecutors used his song to convict him and were sentenced to fifty-five years in prison in July 2019.
The Boondocks is a series that black people relate to with each character reminding us of someone we know. The show reveals the truth about our culture and shows both the beauty and ugly of our culture.
