Another flower arranging therapy Reel, this time w Another flower arranging therapy Reel, this time with roses and a little Stevie Wonder. I could do this all day! 🌹 #traderjoes #flowers #roses #therapy #selfcare
Mimosas, beignets, and Benedicts, oh my! Brunch is Mimosas, beignets, and Benedicts, oh my! Brunch is my absolute favorite meal and @louieswinedive in Clayton treated us so well! I will definitely be back. 

#brunch #stl #stlouis #food #stlfoodie #hosted
Brunch vibes. #latergram #brunch #stl #stlouis Brunch vibes. #latergram #brunch #stl #stlouis
A generous heart is always open, always ready to r A generous heart is always open, always ready to receive our going and coming. In the midst of such love, we need never fear abandonment. This is the most precious gift true love offers – the experience of knowing we always belong.” — bell hooks
One more week before she goes back to school for h One more week before she goes back to school for her second semester. Reppin #stl and @seriessixcompany. 

#stlouis #collegekid #stlmade #mykid
Flower arranging has become the self-care I didn’t know I needed. It’s a tranquil and relaxing experience for me. Get into it. 💐 #traderjoes #flowers #therapy #selfcare
It was about a mellow mood & self-care for me toda It was about a mellow mood & self-care for me today as I spent the first day of the year taking care of my mind, body, and soul. It went something like this…. #newyear #selfcare #overforty #fortyish
We made it a family night at @stlouiswheelpark. A We made it a family night at @stlouiswheelpark. A time was had and memories were made. Grateful that I got some extra days with these guys (thanks Southwest—now run my son back his reimbursement 😂).
My family gifted me $250 worth of Sephora gift car My family gifted me $250 worth of Sephora gift cards as one of my Christmas surprises. Take a look at my haul which includes makeup for oily skin and a some faves! #sephora #haul #skin #oilyskin #beautyproducts #overforty #midlifewomen
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Boob Tube, Kids & Parenting · February 12, 2019

Ain’t We Lucky We Got Good Times?


Good Times is the holy grail when it comes to TV shows in the 70's. Join me as I look back on the first TV sitcom that showcased an in-tact black family.

During Black History Month, I will be sharing my thoughts on films, TV, music, books, and popular culture that is shaped by people of color.

In the 70’s, there weren’t many black families on television. And when I say families, I mean in-tact families with a father and a mother both in the home. In 1974, television wunderkind Norman Lear introduced the Evans family as the center of the 30 minute CBS sitcom Good Times, a spin-off of its women powered and oft liberal Maude. History was made, and a legacy was born.

Good Times (click HERE) was the first television sitcom to feature a black two-parent family, and was centered around ghetto life in a Chicago housing project. Starring the incomparable Esther Rolle as the matriarch of the Evans brood and John Amos (who was many years younger than his TV wife) as the head of the household, each episode focused on the trials, triumphs, and tribulations of the family members. Jimmie Walker, Bern Nadette Stanis, Ralph Carter, and Ja’net Dubois rounded out the cast, and gave us plenty of laughs.

I began watching Good Times when it was in syndication as a little girl, and I still watch it to this day thanks to TV One, which regularly plays multiple episodes weeknights and all day Saturdays. I may even have most of the episodes saved on my DVR so I can watch it anytime I want, and I purchased the last season on iTunes. I am not new to this, I am true to this.

Good Times is the holy grail when it comes to TV shows in the 70's. Join me as I look back on the first TV sitcom that showcased an in-tact black family.

The irony of the title of the show is that despite their lot in life, the Evans family always seemed to make a good time out of it. Whether it was “getting up the rent” to avoid eviction, or getting their phone cut off, or facing not being able to get their eldest son art supplies because the computer said their credit wasn’t any good, or being shot by a gang, somehow, someway, they made it through.

I recently watched an old E! True Hollywood Story that was about Good Times, and it mentioned that there was a lot of tension on the set, mostly due to the fact that J.J., the eldest son played by Jimmie Walker, ended up being the star of the show, due to his ‘Dy-no-mite’ rallying cry and shucking and jiving antics. Good Times was originally supposed to be a star vehicle for both Rolle and Amos, but Walker was an audience favorite and and got more screen time. This resulted in Amos being unceremoniously fired from the show, and killed off in a car accident. Gone was the in-tact family, and with it, the show as never the same.

I have to admit that I prefer the episodes with James Evans—without him, the series seemed to flounder. The latter seasons gave us an introduction to Janet Jackson, aka Milicent “Penny” Woods, so not all was lost.

Good Times is the holy grail when it comes to TV shows in the 70's. Join me as I look back on the first TV sitcom that showcased an in-tact black family.

Good Times never got its footing back after Amos was axed, and after six seasons, it was cancelled. In the last episode, “The End of the Rainbow”, the Evans family gets out of the ghetto and moves on up—finally getting a piece of the pie. Cue, The Jeffersons, whose theme song was written and sung by Good Times’ own Willona Woods (Ja’net Dubois) and produced by Norman Lear.

Ain’t we lucky we got ’em?

Good Times is the holy grail when it comes to TV shows in the 70's. Join me as I look back on the first TV sitcom that showcased an in-tact black family.


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In: Boob Tube, Kids & Parenting · Tagged: Black History Month, Good Times, throwback, TV

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Another flower arranging therapy Reel, this time w Another flower arranging therapy Reel, this time with roses and a little Stevie Wonder. I could do this all day! 🌹 #traderjoes #flowers #roses #therapy #selfcare
Mimosas, beignets, and Benedicts, oh my! Brunch is Mimosas, beignets, and Benedicts, oh my! Brunch is my absolute favorite meal and @louieswinedive in Clayton treated us so well! I will definitely be back. 

#brunch #stl #stlouis #food #stlfoodie #hosted
Brunch vibes. #latergram #brunch #stl #stlouis Brunch vibes. #latergram #brunch #stl #stlouis
A generous heart is always open, always ready to r A generous heart is always open, always ready to receive our going and coming. In the midst of such love, we need never fear abandonment. This is the most precious gift true love offers – the experience of knowing we always belong.” — bell hooks
One more week before she goes back to school for h One more week before she goes back to school for her second semester. Reppin #stl and @seriessixcompany. 

#stlouis #collegekid #stlmade #mykid
Flower arranging has become the self-care I didn’t know I needed. It’s a tranquil and relaxing experience for me. Get into it. 💐 #traderjoes #flowers #therapy #selfcare
It was about a mellow mood & self-care for me toda It was about a mellow mood & self-care for me today as I spent the first day of the year taking care of my mind, body, and soul. It went something like this…. #newyear #selfcare #overforty #fortyish
We made it a family night at @stlouiswheelpark. A We made it a family night at @stlouiswheelpark. A time was had and memories were made. Grateful that I got some extra days with these guys (thanks Southwest—now run my son back his reimbursement 😂).
My family gifted me $250 worth of Sephora gift car My family gifted me $250 worth of Sephora gift cards as one of my Christmas surprises. Take a look at my haul which includes makeup for oily skin and a some faves! #sephora #haul #skin #oilyskin #beautyproducts #overforty #midlifewomen
It’s #giveaway time! Enter to win 2 silk pillowc It’s #giveaway time! Enter to win 2 silk pillowcases from @celestialsilk made of 100% mulberry silk. Sleep better in the new year and take care of you! Entry detail link in bio. #selfcare #sleeping #newyear #review
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