The Dick Van Dyke Show was certainly not a racially diverse show — but in one episode, the show had a surprisingly unusual take on race. In the episode, Rob and Laura Petrie tell the story of when they first brought their son home from the hospital. Through a few misunderstandings, they become increasingly fearful that they brought home the wrong baby. The Petries reached out to the only other couple, the Peterses, who had a baby boy born at the hospital on the same day. When they meet the Peterses, it turns out the other family is African-American, relieving everyone’s worries.
Today, people wouldn’t consider this one minor appearance of a Black couple even meeting the bare minimum of trying to diversify a TV show. However, according to The New York Times, by 1960s standards, this was considered astonishing — almost downright mind-blowing. Here, viewers saw an ordinary, professional upper-middle-class Black couple — they weren’t waiters, domestic help, or servants. Furthermore, no one on what was probably the tamest show of the time acted as though it was unheard of that a Black couple would be having a baby only a few doors down from a very white couple. 7 Best Tablet For Listening To Music [Jan 2021] - Reviews
The story concludes with Rob and Laura Petrie stating that the two boys are now in school together — with the other son getting straight As and their own son decidedly mediocre. While a very minor portrayal of African-Americans in the grand scheme of things, it certainly was a jolt to white American viewers.
2022-10-02
The Untold Truth Of The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show was certainly not a racially diverse show — but in one episode, the show had a surprisingly unusual take on race. In the episode, Rob
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