Ep 10. Black Like Us

In the tenth episode of the fifth season of the sitcom Black-ish, entitled "Black Like Us," the Johnson family examines the concept of black excellence and how it can be perceived differently by different people.

The episode opens with Bow (played by Tracee Ellis Ross), who is of mixed-race, receiving an invitation to the Society of Black Excellence, an exclusive group for successful black professionals. She is excited to attend, but her husband Dre (played by Anthony Anderson) has reservations about the group's emphasis on achievement and upward mobility.

Meanwhile, the couple's four children are grappling with their own perceptions of what it means to be black. Junior (played by Marcus Scribner) is trying to improve his SAT scores to meet the expectations set by his father and the Society of Black Excellence, while Zoey (played by Yara Shahidi) is grappling with her identity as a black woman who attends a predominantly white college. The younger children, Jack (played by Miles Brown) and Diane (played by Marsai Martin), are trying to figure out what it means to be black in a world where they are surrounded by people of all races and ethnicities.

As the family prepares to attend the Society of Black Excellence gala, they begin to question the values of the group. Dre is uncomfortable with the idea of measuring black excellence solely by one's financial success, while Bow feels excluded by the group's emphasis on an identity that she has never fully felt a part of. Meanwhile, the children are struggling to navigate their own experiences of being black in a world that often seems to devalue their culture and history.

Throughout the episode, the Johnson family engages in frank discussions about race and identity, both within their own family and with others they encounter. They confront their own prejudices and biases, and confront the ways in which society has conditioned them to think about what it means to be black.

In the end, the family decides to attend the gala and use it as an opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations about black excellence. They challenge the other attendees to think beyond traditional measures of success and to embrace a more inclusive and nuanced view of what it means to be black.

"Black Like Us" is a thought-provoking episode of Black-ish that tackles complex issues of race and identity with sensitivity and humor. It highlights the ways in which blackness is not a monolithic experience, and how each person's individual experiences contribute to a rich and varied tapestry of black excellence.