‘Black-Ish’ Episode Speaks To Donald Trump’s Win, Calls For Unity

ABC’s Black-ish took a stab at the political state of our country in this week’s episode of the comedy.

BLACK-ISH ON TRUMP ELECTION WIN

The show opened with the upper-middle-class African American Johnson family at the center of the show reacting negatively to Donald Trump‘s win. Their feelings reflect those of show’s creator Kenya Barris, who supported both Hillary Clinton and President Obama. The episode, called “Lemons,” covered such hot-button topics as police brutality and use of the N-word, all with a comedic flourish.

“America has a love affair with upsets,” said main character Dre Johnson, played by Anthony Anderson in voice-over. “But what happens when the losers and winners are supposed to be on the same side? We seem to be more openly divided than we’ve been in a long time.”

Most of the episode takes place two months after election night, and Dre says, “the idea of business as usual has become anything but usual.” He gets into dialogues with his white colleagues who tell why they voted for Trump or against Clinton. Wanda Sykes character Daphne Lido who plays Dre’s boss steps into the conversation, and notes that Trump “goes bankrupt like Khloe Kardashian changes black dudes.”

Dre ends the scene with an impassioned speech about his love for his country, despite its ongoing issues with racism. The episode concludes with a plea for understanding and better communication between sides. “We have to find a way to reach out to each other and find common ground,” Dre says. “Or else we’re literally never going to make it and this country is going to get worse.”