I often pictured myself outside of my mostly Black life as a love interest for all of these stars. Never mind that not one of the shows ever gave me reason to think that I actually could be.
There was, of course, Lisa, Lark Voorhies’ character in Saved by the Bell. But I think one of her quotes from the sitcom sums up her significance on the show: “I have all these problems, and there’s no one ever there for me. I talk and talk and talk, but no one ever listens.” Lisa was the unseen presence of Blackness. Even so, it was a world I longed for—back then. My all-Black-everything life was something I wanted to escape, and in my teens it was through television and film.
PHOTO COURTESY OF OWN