When We Admired Black Women On TV: Our Favorite Characters of Yesteryear

The Women Of A Different World, “A Different World”

“A Different World” was such an accurate presentation of the types of people you’ll meet in college. Even if you didn’t end up going to an all-black one, living on campus, with people from all over the country and the world is such a mind-expanding experience. And though I didn’t realize it at the time, “A Different World” lowkey prepared me for that. Though all of the characters were black, they came from all different types of backgrounds. The women in particular let younger viewers see young, black women in a variety of lights. From the bougie, snobbish girl who quite a bit to learn, to the hippy free-spirited chick who was trying to spread peace and love, to the focused and determined aspiring doctor. As the show added more characters, like Lena (Jada Pinkett), the dynamic became more a more authentic. Plus, we can never forget that during the show’s run, enrollment in black colleges increased. How many shows can boast about something that awesome?