Abstract
This study investigates the portrayal of Black female characters in American sitcoms. Using content analysis, five different Black family sitcoms from the 1970s-2010s were used to determine whether the portrayal of Black female characters have, over the five decades in question, challenged, adapted to, or conformed with the historical stereotypes of the Black female identities of the mammy, jezebel, tragic mulatto, sapphire, and oriole. A qualitative textual analysis was also used to understand the manner of presentation for each stereotype based on the framework in which it exists. My analysis identified six specific themes around the use of historical stereotypes of Back female identity within the Black family sitcom. The study found that the presentation of Black female stereotypes on the Black family sitcom are a) not controlled by Black women b) maintained through family power dynamics; c) presented in the original and adaptive forms; d) characterized in connection with skin tone.