The black and the TV Have you ever thought about disabled African Americans with television? If not, in this report you will learn how African Americans influenced television. You will learn about television shows that influenced television and even just some people who influenced television. Commercial television was born in 1948 when each of the three major networks, ABC, CBS and NBC, began broadcasting. 1948 was also a great year in African American history with the desegregation of the United States military to see blacks in the US military and the passage of civil rights in the presidential platform of the Democratic Party led by President Harry S. Truman. (http://www.africana.com/tt_178.htm) When television news began reporting seriously on racism and the fight for civil rights, television entertainment programs became even whiter. Since its inception, the medium had avoided controversy. During the 1960s, as protests against racism and the Vietnam War increased, planning became less and less realistic. For example, some of the most popular shows on television at that time were Charmed, Genie, and other Escapist Fantasy. As cultural critic J. Fred McDonald pointed out, comedies like Petticoat Junction and The Andy Griffith Show, both set in the South, portrayed all-white worlds in which no prejudice existed. (http://www.africana.com/tt_178 .htm) In 1965 a film was released starring Bill Cosby and Robert Culp, both African Americans. The name was I Spy. The film was primarily aimed at racing. Towards the end of the 1960s, television began to emerge from its fantasy world to present programming that was more in touch with the reality of current times. The first comedy series to address the topic of race was All in the Family, a show with a predominantly white cast. At the head was Archie Bunker, a racist. While some felt that Archie's use of racial slurs amounted to prejudice, most saw the series as a major step towards realism, particularly in terms of race relations on television. The Bunkers' neighbors were a black family whose characters were later featured in a popular version. -off series.The Jefferson's aired from 1975 to 1985. (http://www.engl.virgina.edu/~enwr1016/amc2d.html) Then in the late 90's TV World came out with a whole new channel BET. Black Entertainment Television, this was supposed to make African Americans more noticed around the world. In the late 1990s more African Americans than ever were involved in the television industry, some in executive and production roles..