10 old shows that were racist but you never knew – This will surprise you!

7. Diff’rent Strokes

via nydailynews.com

Diff’rent Strokes looks like a pretty progressive show on the surface. After all, it was about an interracial family in the 1980s and that’s pretty amazing. Blacks and whites lived together and became a family, tackling issues and obstacles together. It’s all pretty powerful stuff. The show has become famous again over the years for its wayward cast members, who made some mistakes after leaving the uber-popular series.

The problem with Diff’rent Strokes is that it contains a lot of themes of white people saving black people – from themselves and from others. Many find these story lines, and the entire show’s premise, offensive because of this. It was originally named 45 Minutes From Harlem, a proposed title that stresses the contrast between white and black that’s such a strong focus of the show.