This week, CBS's sitcom The Neighborhood mocked the trend of white women pretending to be black for professional and cultural caché.
In the episode, "Welcome to the Sister from Another Mister," on Monday, October 4, white elementary school principal Gemma (Beth Behrs) introduces her black neighbors to Alexis (Nicole Sullivan), the new teacher she hired to teach black history. "Now my school's on its way to having its most diverse staff in years," she gushes to neighbors, Calvin (Cedric the Entertainer) and Tina (Tichina Arnold). "She has three degrees, speaks multiple African languages, and Sasha Obama follows her on Twitter," Gemma adds.
Alexis hugs Tina and tells her "Black is beautiful" in Swahili, but Tina soon begins to suspect that Alexis is not really black. She tells Gemma her suspicions.
Gemma: Well, if she's not, then she lied on her application. And even worse, this job came from a grant designated for an African American teacher. The whole program could be in jeopardy if I got this wrong.
Calvin: Okay, well, why don't you just ask Alexis if she's Black or not.
Tina: Yeah.
Gemma: Legally, I can't.
The fact that she has hired somebody based purely on the color of her skin, but cannot legally ask her the color of her skin really highlights the schizophrenic nature of contemporary hiring practices based on race.
Tina invites Alexis over to dinner to determine if she is really black. Based on "clues" such as the excellent potato salad Alexis bring to dinner and the fact that she can name the black actor in the Lethal Weapon movie, Tina decides Alexis' racial background is genuine. Really.
But when Alexis later overhears Tina and Gemma talking, she learns Tina originally doubted her race. Tina feels terrible about her "mistake." She and Gemma take Alexis out for lunch and mimosas as an apology.
On the way to lunch, Gemma gets pulled over by a police officer and Tina discovers her original suspicions were correct.
Officer: License and registration mam.
Gemma: Yeah.
Officer: You're aware your taillight is out?
Gemma: But my husband told me he fixed it. Let me see. (Car door closes)
Tina: She's probably all right, but I don't want to leave her alone.
Alexis: You right. You right, sis. We should go out there in case something pops off. (Clears throat)
Officer: See, ma'am?
Gemma: I told Dave not to do it himself.
Alexis: MM. You'd think with all the crime in this city, he'd have something better to do.
Officer: Uh, can you two please step back?
Tina: Oh, yeah, yeah. Yes, sir. Uh, Alexis, step back.
Alexis: No, we don't have to do what he says. Yeah, yeah. I got time today.
Officer: No. I'm gonna need you to calm down, ma'am.
Alexis: Don't tell me to calm down. You about to lose your job.
Officer: Listen, lady, I'm just trying...
Alexis: Ow! Ow! You-you cannot lay your hands on me, sir. Did you see that? Ow! I'm gonna have your badge, sport! My parents own one of the biggest law firms in Los Angeles! Featherinham and Associates. I'm sure you've heard of them.
Dispatcher: All units report to 12th and Clover. Shots fired.
Tina: She just said Featherinham and Associates?
Gemma: She told me her last name is Simpson.
Officer: Copy that. Unit 24 responding. It's your lucky day, lady.
Alexis: Oh, yeah. Yeah, you better leave. I was about to go o-f-f.
Both Tina and Gemma are appalled by Alexis' behavior. "No Black woman in the world would do what you just did," Tina tells her. But why should the neighbors be surprised that Alexis would treat an officer with such disrespect and hostility? After all, shows like The Neighborhood have been pushing the idea that police officers are the enemy of black America for well over a year now. The entire BLM movement has justified attacks on police. Why wouldn't a leftist who took in such rhetoric presume she has the right to verbally attack and threaten a cop without consequence?
When Alexis realizes she has been caught in her racial lie, she tries to argue that her claim is still valid because she is "culturally fluid."