Photo: Gilles Mingasson/Disney
From its inception, Abbott Elementary has skillfully represented a side of culture that lacks authentic representation on network television. Too often, shows miss the mark when portraying their version of Blackness by overexplaining references to viewers, thus becoming an unnatural caricature of the culture they’re aiming to showcase. Abbott avoids this by allowing its characters to simply exist without turning situations into a forced anthropological presentation. In fact, race is really only mentioned when necessary for a joke or specific story line. Conversely, the writing on Abbott gives very much IYKYK energy by using broad strokes to paint Black experiences in a way that doesn’t alienate…
