TV Recap: Black-ish Season 4 Episode 1, Juneteenth
With a Hamilton-inspired premiere, black-ish has me excited for the season. This episode was filled with great one-liners and entertaining music. Opening with Jack and Diane’s school Columbus Day play, Dre shames a school staff member for not celebrating more cultural holidays like Juneteenth and goes to work, enlisting the help of Aloe Blacc to put an end to Columbus Day.
Aloe Blacc explains what Juneteenth is in a “I’m Just a Slave” rendition of Schoolhouse Rock’s “I’m Just a Bill”, which is met with opposition that we already have Martin Luther King Day and Black History Month. Dre counters with “This is insane. You don’t tell white people or Jewish people that they only deserve one holiday.”
This episode is filled with great full stage music with the cast playing pre- and immediately post-slavery characters that tell some of the stories of slavery and the freeing of slaves and how the United States refuses to acknowledge the this country was built on the back of slaves.
One of the scenes that hit me close was when they talk about all the things black people have done throughout history and present to make white people comfortable.
This episode ends with the Johnsons buying strawberry soda, firing up the grill and Ruby makes a mean red velvet cake for their first official observance of Juneteenth.
What did you think about this episode? Hit up the comment section and let me know.