Blacks have been portrayed in media since cinema has begun. 

Starting from minstrel shows, complete with blackface, working actors like Mantan Moreland & Stepin Fetchit kept working by taking the only roles available but even with the degrading roles their talent shone throughout. 

Decades after the groundbreaking Beulah & controversial Amos & Andy the birth of The Jeffersons, spinning off from All In The Family, was arguably one of the first examples of a black American family prospering on television. This Emmy award winning show is one of the longest running shows in American television history.