Go ahead and take in all the heat that Miss Carter is serving up for the kids. Go on... I will wait. Today is the seventh day of BHM and I think it's time to shine the spotlight on Nell Carter. I'm pretty sure she's dead (but too lazy to Google it) but I think of her randomly. She was one of the first images of a sassy Black woman I had ingrained at an early age.
For those of you who didn't watch the show, Nell was the maid to a widowed Polish guy and his kids. Nell wasn't your typical "yes sir!" maid; She was one of those maids who was all "that is NOT in my job description!" (even when it sometimes was)She serves as an inspiration to me today when my bosses be tripping and asking me to do shit I don't feel like doing. I serve up some Nell Carter side eye, an eye roll and a "that is NOT my job!" Then I get reminded that my job description is all encompassing and I go on to complete the task.
Beyond Nell's sass, she also proved that people are people. It may seem on the surface that a white family with a black maid in the 80s was a bit degrading, but that's not the case. Nell raised those kids like her own and they loved and treated her with the love and respect of a mother. Sometimes they would get out of line (yes, I'm talking about you Joey Lawrence) and she would have to check their ass with a quickness. For her contributions to mankind, I say THANK YOU SISTER CARTER! Now please enjoy the theme song from "Gimme A Break" which might as well be my own theme song.
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