ROOTS PLUS 20

Tension filled the office of ABC-TV executive Lou Rudolph. Facing him were several African American leaders less than pleased with his network. They wanted answers and satisfaction now.

Why in 1975 are black people invisible on ABC?, the leaders from the Los Angeles Urban League, the NAACP and other groups demanded, echoing a grievance that Rudolph was repeatedly hearing from the black community. There seemed to be a deliberate attempt to keep blacks off TV, they said. And they were not going to stand for it anymore.

“It was very tense, very heated,� remembered Gil Avila, ABC’s former head of personnel, who attended the meeting.

Rudolph, who was then ABC’s vice president in charge of two-hour movies, calmly replied to the angry group, “Well, I think you’re going to be happy very soon. We’ve just bought this new property called ‘Roots,’ and we’re making it into a major miniseries.�

A silence fell over the group. Finally, one of them said, “What the hell is ‘Roots’? “

The confusion of the leaders was understandable. Alex Haley’s epic history tracing his ancestry back to Africa and the slaves of the American South had not yet hit the bookstores. But “Roots: The Saga of an American Family� would later take readers by storm, hitting No. 1 on the bestseller list in the fall of 1976. And the premiere on Jan. 23, 1977, of the 12-hour miniseries based on “Roots� would grip the country as no other entertainment program had before.

By the end of its run over eight consecutive nights, “Roots� had accomplished much more than just soothing the concerns of blacks desperate to see themselves and their stories on TV. It made history, becoming the highest-rated television program ever.

Executives at ABC, who secretly feared that the costly and risky project would be a ratings catastrophe, were stunned with the overwhelming response from viewers. During the week of “Roots,� restaurants and theaters were empty, entertainers ended their performances early. It was estimated that half the U.S. population watched the drama, with approximately 100 million people tuning in the final installment. That telecast still ranks as the third-highest-rated broadcast in U.S. history.

But for blacks inside and outside the entertainment industry, “Roots� was more than a special event. The miniseries was a dramatic and vibrant thread that wove perfectly into the tapestry of the civil rights movement. Never again, they said, could a network television executive turn his back on them, using the excuse that there was no interest in black stars and stories.

The floodgates had been opened, and they waited for the flow of opportunities.

Today, 20 years after its premiere, “Roots� is still regarded by many in the entertainment industry as having marked a turning point in the perception and portrayal of blacks in Hollywood. But there is also a widespread belief that the expectations prompted by “Roots� have not been met.

On one hand, more African Americans are working in front of and behind the camera than ever before, and shows with all-black casts or major black characters can be seen every night of the week. But on ABC, CBS and NBC, the three networks in existence when “Roots� aired, most TV comedies are still largely segregated, there is not a single drama series built around a black actor, and blacks and other minorities have minimal presence in made-for-television movies. Moreover, critics say that many of the black-themed shows are demeaning and filled with negative images. Executives at ABC, CBS and NBC declined to be interviewed for this story.

Said “Roots� producer Stan Margulies: “I would say there has not been as much progress in TV as I hoped there would be 20 years ago. Back then, African Americans were confined to the sitcom ghetto. Unfortunately, 20 years later, it’s still true. TV executives have always perceived their medium as the entertainment for white America.�

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The current debate over portrayals of African Americans on television echoes the controversy regarding many of the black images during the mid-1970s.

In 1976, the few shows that featured major black characters were criticized. “Good Times,� a comedy about a lower-class family living in a high-rise ghetto, featured a character named J.J., a teenager who regularly yelled “Dy-No-Mite!� Another comedy, “Sanford & Son,� revolved around a junkyard operator and his tempestuous son. “The Jeffersons� centered on a rude black bigot who owned a chain of cleaning stores. Producers of these programs defended them, saying they had characters with dignity and depth mixed in with the humor.

Though there were black supporting characters on “Welcome Back, Kotter,� “All in the Family� and “Baretta,� blacks and other minorities were almost nonexistent on popular series such as “The Bob Newhart Show,� “Charlie’s Angels,� “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,� “One Day at a Time� and “Kojak.�

The current scene is much more inclusive of blacks. Sixteen shows with predominantly black casts are scattered around the prime-time schedule on ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and the fledgling WB and UPN networks, ranging from “Cosby� to “The Wayans Bros.� And black actors have major roles on most of the networks’ ensemble dramas.

The growth in the African American presence coincides with a large increase in the number of black stars, directors, writers and producers, particularly over the last two years.

Said Fox Entertainment President Peter Roth: “Yes, we have a long way to go, but there have been great breakthroughs.� He cited the landmark “The Cosby Show� on NBC in the 1980s, which depicted an upper-middle-class black family and became one of the most popular shows in television history.

Other shows that have received praise for their portrayals of blacks in recent years include “Roc,� “Family Matters,� “A Different World� and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.�

Garth Ancier, programming chief at the WB network, said, “The shows are so much better now. There were a plethora of shows back then that were just plain buffoonish. Then ‘Cosby’ turned around the sitcom genre, and all the shows now operate with a basic morality. It is a very different situation.�

Added actor-producer-director Robert Townsend, who stars in WB’s “The Parent ‘Hood�: “There is progress, you can’t deny that. You see African Americans in roles that they just could not get 20 years ago. Everybody’s working.�

But Townsend and others contend that more doesn’t necessarily mean better.

“On one hand, I’m so thrilled that there are so many actors working,� said director Kevin Hooks, who starred in the basketball drama “The White Shadow� from 1978 to 1981 on CBS. “On the other hand, there is a perpetuation of the same problems that we were trying to address 20 years ago, the problems that we thought ‘Roots’ would correct. Sorry to say, that is not the case.�

Some producers, writers and educators charged that the refusal of ABC, CBS and NBC executives to be interviewed on this subject reflects the networks’ inability to defend these facts:

* Though blacks and some Latinos figure prominently in ensemble dramas such as “Chicago Hope,� “ER,� “NYPD Blue,� “Law & Order,� “Dangerous Minds� and “Homicide: Life on the Street,� there is not a single black performer who is the central focus of a one-hour dramatic series on network television--in the manner of Don Johnson in “Nash Bridges� or Chuck Norris in “Walker, Texas Ranger.�

* On ABC, NBC and CBS, there are only three comedies with more than one black character: CBS’ “Cosby� and ABC’s “Family Matters� and “Clueless.� Many have none, including “Friends,� “Seinfeld,� “Cybill� and “Ellen,� all of which are set in multicultural metropolises.

* Of 19 midseason prime-time shows now being introduced by the four major networks, only one has an African American star--a comedy with Arsenio Hall that premieres March 5 on ABC. Latinos and Asians are also largely absent from comedies on the major networks.

* African Americans are still a rarity in television corporate offices and production companies, and no black executive has the power to green-light a television show onto a network schedule.

* Even though black directors and stars such as Spike Lee, Carl Franklin, Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, Whitney Houston, Will Smith and Morgan Freeman have proved to be bankable commodities at the box office, African Americans have been largely excluded from network television movies. Out of 245 such films produced for the four major networks over the past two seasons, about 20 have featured blacks in leading roles.

“Roots� was “not the turning point it should have been,� concludes Jannette Dates, dean of the School of Communications at Howard University and senior editor of “Split Images: African Americans in the Mass Media.� “It was a meteor that flashed brightly in the sky but then burned out. The powers that be were not interested in continuing that serious focus on the black experience. The narrow mind-set didn’t shift. It was like the decision makers said, ‘That was a special. We did our part for Negro history, and we’re done with that.’ �

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The current wave of black comedies, particularly on the WB and UPN networks, has provoked some of the most heated controversy among observers of blacks in the TV arena.

Rob Edwards, co-executive producer of “In the House,� which moved from NBC to UPN this season, said the majority of comedies are too similar to 1970s-era shows.

“As black producers have taken over the reins, the flavor of many of these shows now is indistinguishable from the shows in the 1970s,� Edwards said. “It’s not a true picture of what we are, just a louder, hipper version of what those shows used to be.�

Many in the industry, including blacks, have blasted comedies such as “Martin,� “Malcolm & Eddie,� “The Wayans Bros.� and “Homeboys in Outer Space� as being “minstrel� shows in which characters are mostly shown clowning around or insulting one another.

“Instead of going in a positive direction on a creative level, we went in the opposite direction,� said actor-director Tim Reid, who stars in WB’s “Sister, Sister.� “We have shown the country the worst in ourselves, the worst that life could be. There is broadness and buffoonery,� following a pattern and mold set up previously by the industry’s creative powers.

“What’s on network television now when it comes to African Americans is a tragedy,� Reid added. “Psychologists in the future will look back and see this as one of our darkest hours, how an entire people have been portrayed.�

Others disagree, noting that while many of these series are written and performed in a broad comedic style, they have provided a wider range of portrayals of African Americans than had existed previously.

“There is a lot more diversity of images in the half-hours,� said Ralph Farquhar, executive producer of the UPN comedy “Moesha.� “Black images run the range from ‘Moesha’ to ‘The Wayans Bros.’ We have a tow truck driver and a struggling entrepreneur in ‘Malcolm & Eddie.’ There’s a loving family on ‘The Parent ‘Hood.’ On ‘Moesha’ we look at the life of a teenage girl.�

Perhaps the most controversial of the black shows is “The Wayans Bros.,� which stars real-life brothers Shawn and Marlon Wayans as partners in a newsstand business and is now in its third season on WB. Much of the comedy is slapstick and loaded with black slang.

Ancier said he wishes the comedy was “more about stories. It’s hard to appeal to a broader audience when the characters are all portrayed with their heavy slang. But it’s hard for me to dictate somebody’s comedy to them, and at this point, it’s very difficult to change it. It’s their style; they created it.�

In their defense, the Wayans argue that their show is as positive as any other, and that those who criticize it have not paid close attention.

Said Shawn Wayans: “This show is about two young, positive brothers trying to make it on their own without committing crime. We own our own business. It’s very much a family-oriented show. But we’re not ‘Cosby.’ Everyone who is black on TV can’t be lawyers and doctors. There is more than one story and one point of view to bring to television. Our show is supposed to be silly and fun.�

Added Marlon Wayans: “It’s not about slang, it’s about character. If you have a good character, the audience will embrace it.�

He added, “The message of this show is, ‘Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t have your dream.’ We come from a different place than ‘Sister, Sister.’ We come from a blue-collar family, and we’re being true to who we are. But both shows are articulate in different ways.�

Fox Entertainment’s Roth made a similar point about the shows on his network being positive reflections of African American life. “ ‘Living Single,’ while a bit raucous, captures the fabulous essence of ‘Waiting to Exhale’ in showing four women struggling to maintain their spirit of independence,� he said. “With ‘Martin,’ a loving relationship is at the heart of the show.�

Dramatic series and TV movies with African Americans provoke a different debate, more about quantity than quality.

Actors such as Andre Braugher in “Homicide,� Eriq LaSalle in “ER,� Della Reese in “Touched by an Angel,� James McDaniel in “NYPD Blue� and Malik Yoba of “New York Undercover� have won accolades for their talent and the positive attributes they project. But none of them carries a show, and there are no drama series and few movies that feature predominantly black casts.

The reluctance of the broadcast networks to put African Americans at the center of dramas and TV movies is linked to the failure of the black-themed dramas that have been tried over the years, such as “Paris� (1979), “Brewster Place� (1990), “I’ll Fly Away� (1991), “M.A.N.T.I.S.� (1994) and “Under One Roof� (1996).

Hooks, who directed “A Roots Christmas,� a 1988 spinoff of the miniseries, said network executives and advertisers remain unconvinced that a black drama will attract a sizable, demographically desirable audience. “Under One Roof� and “M.A.N.T.I.S.� were pulled in their first season because of low ratings.

“Historically, because they have not performed well, advertisers don’t have the confidence to invest in serious shows with African American casts,� he said. “Therefore, the network executives are reluctant to invest the time and energy into ensuring the success of those shows.�

“Sister, Sister’s� Reid, who directed last year’s feature film “Once Upon a Time . . . When We Were Colored,� said he encountered endless resistance at the network level several years ago when he pitched a movie based on the underground railroad that helped slaves escape to freedom, even though he had starred in several series, including “WKRP in Cincinnati� and “Frank’s Place.� It took him eight years to get “Race to Freedom: The Underground Railroad� made; it ultimately aired in 1994 on the Family Channel and BET.

“Everyone said, ‘We’ve already done ‘Roots,’ � Reid said. “This was being said by the networks that didn’t even do ‘Roots.’ It was not a film I could get made in America. I had to get financing from Canada.�

Others said that despite the success of “Roots,� an atmosphere of discrimination still exists inside network television, with programmers feeling that black performers are better suited to comedies than dramas.

Said Bishetta Merritt, chairperson of the radio, TV and film department at Howard University: “There is a certain mind-set on who blacks are and what roles they can best play. They are considered to be the entertainers, the buffoons, and if the networks can make money off that kind of comedic genre, that’s what’s important.�

But other observers note that family dramas in general have struggled in the ratings in recent years, and that some of the attempts to develop African American dramas have been flawed, despite their good intentions.

Referring to shows such as “Palmerstown, U.S.A.� and “I’ll Fly Away,� Dan Amundson, director of research for the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a media watchdog group in Washington, said, “They were all very earnest, but preachy. The characters were weak.�

Debra Langford, vice president of television for Quincy Jones-David Salzman Entertainment, said CBS’ “Under One Roof,� about a middle-class black family in Seattle, was victimized by problems that have plagued similar series in recent years: “Family dramas, white and black, just have not worked in the last five years. The audience is looking for escapism. To get caught up in a real-life family drama is not considered escapism.�

Meanwhile, those who criticize the networks for ignoring dramatic treatments of blacks praise cable networks such as HBO and Showtime for developing serious dramatic projects by and about blacks and other minorities.

In the past few years, HBO has developed numerous films about black Americans, including “The Tuskegee Airmen,� “The Josephine Baker Story,� “America’s Dream,� “Rebound: The Legend of Earl ‘The Goat’ Manigault,� “The Soul of the Game� and, coming Feb. 22, “Miss Evers’ Boys.� Showtime has a movie about South African President Nelson Mandela scheduled for Feb. 16 and another film in April about the Los Angeles riots.

“Twenty years after ‘Roots,’ it’s cable that has decided that these stories were worth telling,� Langford said. “The networks have decided to concentrate on comedies.�

“We’re not trying to make movies that will appeal to this audience or that audience,� said Jeff Bewkes, chairman of HBO, declining to comment on the posture of the networks toward minorities in films. “We hope they appeal to our entire audience. These films have proven to have great crossover appeal.�

Perhaps no one has charted the course of blacks in Hollywood over the past 20 years more closely than LeVar Burton, the actor who was plucked out of USC at the age of 19 to play the young Kunta Kinte. His career literally spans those two decades. And while Burton hasn’t achieved the major stardom that was forecast after “Roots,� he has worked regularly, including his prominent role in the “Star Trek: The Next Generation� TV series and feature films and as host of the long-running children’s show “Reading Rainbow.�

“The expectations [for blacks] after ‘Roots,’ � he said recently, “were that the doors would burst wide open. Five years later, there were all these conversations and disappointment that it didn’t happen. Ten years later, that disappointment was lingering.

“My point of view is that I see a direct correlation between the post-’Roots’ disappointment and the explosion of talent that we are experiencing today.

“The frustration that followed was channeled into the attitude that blacks have had for 200 years,� Burton said. “We said, ‘I don’t care what it takes, I’m going to bust this door down.’ We had a steely determination to overcome the obstacles and stop relying on others to give us jobs.�

“In the House� producer Edwards said the potential for change is still great. “We have to applaud the achievements, the fact that there are wonderful actors doing work on ‘Homicide’ and ‘ER.’ We have a presence. It has to go drop by drop until there is a full ocean. Television moves very, very slowly.�

But Burton said the inclusion of African Americans in the industry will not improve “until we get into ownership. It’s critical that we make inroads into that area. That should be our next goal.�

He added: “There has been progress. The fact that there was a ‘Roots’ in the first place is a far cry from what would have been on TV 20 years before that. For a network to devote eight nights to a black show would never have happened 20 years before. The pendulum swings very slowly, and it’s always moving.�

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* “Roots� will air Feb. 23-28 on cable’s History Channel.

* BLACK AND WHITE TV

African Americans play major roles in today’s network dramas. Why are situation comedies still largely segregated? See story in Monday’s Calendar.