Jaleel White found his footing as an actor in the early 1990s by way of his breakout role as Steve Urkel on the hit sitcom series, Family Matters. At a recent talk, Jaleel White shared his thoughts on why Family Matters isn’t mentioned as one of the top Black television series of its time, prompting fans on X to deliver what they felt were doses of reality.
Jaleel White, 48, is currently on a promotional tour for his memoir, Growing Up Urkel, and was at the Wilmington Public Library in Delaware recently to discuss the work and his time on television. During the chat, White shared that he believes Family Matters doesn’t get the same attention as other Black shows of his time for reasons he feels were connected to the fact it focused on a middle-class Black family.
“Being a part of the TGIF brand sometimes makes you feel like you don’t completely belong in the pantheon of Blackness,” White said earlier in the chat regarding Family Matters and its place in Black culture. Blackness has been treated as a very monolithic experience in entertainment. If it’s not a hood story, it’s not a Black story. And you know, sometimes I feel left out of that.”
TGIF was first established as a programming block on the ABC network in 1989 meant to bring attention to several family-friendly television shows, typically sitcoms, that can be viewed by all on Friday evenings. During its height, TGIF was home to some of network television’s top-rated shows of which Family Matters was a part.
White continued in the chat to add while Family Matters isn’t viewed as the Blackest show among the other greats, it is viewed well as a family show.
“If there’s ever a poll, and they say what are your favorite black shows, Martin is in there, Living Single. I already know we [Family Matters] coming in last,” White added. “But if there’s ever a poll and it’s just your favorite family shows, suddenly Martin is not in there [and] we rank really high. So it’s kind of interesting in how we look at ourselves, to be quite honest, as Black folks.”
White’s quip about the perceived Blackness or lack thereof caught the ears and eyes of those who saw or heard the chat, and were especially bothered by the “hood” jab despite Living Single and Martin focusing on middle-class Black characters as well.
On X, formerly Twitter, Jaleel White had his name dragged through the virtual dirt. Just for reporting purposes, we’ll share some of those reactions.
Hop to the 7:30-minute mark on the video below to hear White’s quip in question.
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Photo: Getty
