Even in fiction, “Law and Order” does not care about Black people.

I recently decided to binge the most recent seasons of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit since season 24 premieres later this month. SVU has been the only iteration of the L&O franchise I’ve watched pretty regularly, and the only “cop show” I watch besides Reno 911, Monk, Psych, and The Closer. 

In the most recent six seasons of SVU they depicted: a Black teen lynched for dating a white girl; a Black father who beat his wife and went to jail, fatally shot in the head; a Black, female romantic interest  stereotyped and cast aside; white saviorism;  the first Black Deputy Chief bullied, shunned, and defamed by other racist cops; and so much more. In addition, the A and B stories  rarely revolve around Black characters and we, therefore, rarely see Black people receiving justice or aid. 

There are no Black detectives on the team apart from Ice-T who I like, but is light-skinned and often written as Captain Obvious, juxtapose to his white colleagues.  It’s just poor writing when you choose to disregard the audiences that are most likely giving your show high viewership numbers. Black people are the major consumers of almost all industries and entertainment, yet we are reduced to stereotypes, victimhood, or invisibility.  Look at the bait and switch of John Boyega’s role in Star Wars: Episodes 7-9. They really had us out here thinking we were going to get a Black Jedi of Nigerian descent. All we got was a slap in the face and an understandable refusal from Boyega to ever return to the franchise .

When you the possess the platform to shape and deliver art, but choose to only think inside of the box, in 2022 no less, you do not deserve said platform. Until it does better, Law & Order: SVU has lost me as a viewer. 

Do you watch Law & Order: SVU? If so, what keeps you engaged?

Executive Producer
Kimmiechanga