2009 Black History Month: Favorite Black TV Characters (#28 + #27)

By: Luke Florence

Barnes and I are more alike than we are different. We both love sports, girls, arguments, traditions and list making. We both love to razz on our friends and each other. Barnes tends to make fun of my inability to land girls and I have been known to tell Barnes that he is the most nonathletic black person I've ever known. And we are okay with it. In fact, it is encouraged.

I owe a lot to Matt Barnes. Without gushing over him too much, Barnes has become a rock solid member of my single digit speed dial, which is a great way in determining one person's worth to another. There is a reason Seinfeld devoted an entire episode to it.

Barnes has introduced me to many things. Some good like intramural sports and pizza rolls. Others bad, like the movie Rent. But one of the great things Barnes has shown me is Black History Month.

Yeah I knew about black history month before I met Barnes, but I never felt included. I've never said "have a happy black history month" before. Thankfully, Barnes changed that.

He first told me that for the entire month I could not make fun of him. Which really didn't give the old "gang" too much to talk about. I don't think I've ever met a person who attracts more humorous criticism from a group of people than Barnes does. It's why Jeff Hirz and myself got along right off the bat. Same with me and Ray Seiler. Whenever we are all together, it usually turns into a Matt Barnes roast. (He didn't help himself with The Promise billboard, commercial, etc.)

But not during February. It was not allowed. That was Freshman year.

As I said in the opening, Barnes and I are more alike than different. So, our sophomore year of college, I decided to send Barnes one song each day. I didn't have a list made up or plan any of it. Instead, I sent him one song that either had the word "black" in the title, or "black" was in the artist's name. In a weird way, it gave me a sense of belonging during black history month.

Flash forward three years later and here we are again, ready to embark on another journey. This one involving television characters. We will do one a day for the entire month. Barnes will then be taking this list and commenting on each pick over on his own blog. It has become one of my favorite traditions. It has vaulted February from my least favorite month to somewhere in the middle of the pack. It has me looking forward to February. It is black history month.

My Favorite Black TV Characters

#28 - February 1st - Rev Run (aka Joey Simmons) - "Run's House"

MTV is more television than music. It has created more ridiculous shows than I can even imagine. One of the better ones they have turned out was called "Run's House." It follows the life of Rev Run (yes, from Run-DMC) and his large family.

What I like about Rev Run is that he seems like an everyday genuine Dad. He is full of life lessons, tries to set his children straight, and has a solid sense of humor. I know it is just a reality TV show, but unlike The Osbournes, Run's House appears to be more real than reality TV.

My favorite episode is when Rev Run sets up a garage sale for his youngest kid, Russy, who really wants to have money of his own. I tried desperately to find the clip, but failed. I crack up everytime I hear Run ask Russy, "You're selling Mr. Incredible?"
And oh yeah, his oldest daughter, Vanessa, is gorgeous. So, kudos to Rev Run for producing something that fine and for kickstarting this list.

#27 - February 2nd - Kel Mitchell - "All That" and "Kenan and Kel"

Welcome to good burger, home of the good burger, can I take your order?

Who loves orange soda? Kel loves orange soda. I do, I do, I do, I doo.

Those two lines were repeated close to a million times in the Florence household during the 1990s by my brother Josh and myself.

Both are credited to Kel Mitchell. Yes, I am aware that Kenan Thompson played a large role (pun intended) in these lines, but Kel was more memorable.

Josh and I lived on SNICK. It quickly became a Saturday night tradition for us to stay up and watch it from 8-10 pm. We looked forward to it for shows like All That, Kenan and Kel, Roundhouse and Are You Afraid of the Dark? It was part of the culture that we grew up in. We couldn't avoid it.

When coming up with this list, Kel was one of the first people I wrote down. Sure he is second from the bottom, but he is a staple none the less.

Okay, that's enough for tonight. Make sure to check out Barnes' posts (over on my sidebar) to see how he responds to this list. There will be some surprises, but nothing too crazy.

Check back tomorrow to see who places #26 as we count up to my favorite black TV character of all-time.