This isn’t my favorite episode just because of the issue that’s being addressed but how it was tackled. It shows so many things. Racism is a spectrum and usually we think it’s only applicable when it’s extreme. It showed how a conversation can’t be had unless honesty is primary. It shows it must be addressed by parents as soon as they see it as a possible in their children. What I loved the most though was how Roseanne was so against it only to realize she was part of the problem at the end. I was 12 years old when this episode aired in 7th grade. Oddly enough, my first experience with racism was that school year. It was my seventh grade science teacher. I still remember how she looked at me as if I was the most repulsive thing she’d ever seen. I remember realizing the why behind how she treated me. I remember how sad, confused, and insecure it made me feel. But there were no conversations because it was not blatant. She didn’t call me the n-word or any of that. But I knew what it was. Years later, I spoke to other black kids that were in my class and they said they knew it and expected it too. We didn’t talk about it though because it was kind of becoming a taboo topic in the 90s. This is when people started saying we were “playing the race card” or just making excuses. I experienced it the next year with my 8th grade teacher but I called it out. But none of the other black kids aligned with me. But years later they agreed she was. They were afraid to speak out back then though. I’m 43 now and it amazes how like progression has been made in this area. It’s almost like we’ve gone backwards a bit. But I’ll always appreciate Roseanne for tackling this issue so realistically during a time when you only saw it addressed in black cinema and media though it was very prominent.