Are there many black women in television? Well from the looks of last night’s Emmy’s telecast there aren’t many. And none of the five sisters—with six nominations between them— went home with a statuette (although I did some brothers up there with “30 Rock”. So I thought it might be better to take a look back at Diahann Carroll’s historic role as “Julia”. More than forty years ago this dynamic woman was the star of her own show and brought us a character filled with dignity and class. It is time to find a modern day “Julia” that we can all come home and turn to.

I don’t know if “HawthoRNe” seems so disappointing to so many because it is formulaic in comparison to Edie Falco’s “Nurse Jackie” or because people think a virtuous black woman just doesn’t make compelling television. In other words…are we saying that nobility is actually boring?  Well, it would seem that way if we go by what the critics are saying.  Then there are  the obvious comparisons to Diahann Carroll’s “Julia” which most  folks haven’t seen in years (and have a soft spot for). Personally, I don’t think Christina Hawthorne is as noble as Julia. Not by a long shot. But she is also not as interesting. Read the full story

Girlfriends became collateral damage when the writer’s strike came to an end. The CW announced that it would only concentrate its resources on shows slated to return for another season. We secretly knew Girlfriends had already run out of steam a couple of years ago. But it still could have gone out on a high note at the end of last season with Joan’s long-awaited marriage proposal. Creator Mara Brock Akil and most of the cast chose to soldier on anyway perhaps because of the absence of successful or middle-class black women in series television. I am talking about sisters who play roles beyond the occasional doctor, cop, maid or the ever-popular goldigger. Read the full story