7 of the Blackest ‘That’s So Raven’ Moments We’ll Never Forget
If you grew up watching Disney Channel in the early 2000s, you already know That’s So Raven was different.
Raven Baxter wasn’t just psychic. She was loud, fashionable, dramatic, hilarious and unapologetically herself. And while Disney Channel had plenty of iconic shows during that era, That’s So Raven brought a level of Black culture to the network that you didn’t have to search very hard to find.
More than 20 years later, we’re being reminded of just how Black the show really was.
Raven-Symoné’s wife, Miranda Pearman-Maday, recently revisited the viral conversation surrounding the fact that she didn’t grow up watching That’s So Raven.
During a conversation with Keke Palmer, Miranda clarified that she knew who Raven was, she just wasn’t familiar with the show and all of Raven’s… well, “Raven-ness.”
So in honor of all that “Raven-ness,” we’re looking back at seven of the Blackest That’s So Raven moments we still can’t forget.
7. Raven’s Disguises Were Always Somebody’s Auntie
One thing about Raven Baxter: she was going to put on a wig.
Raven spent half the series trying to stop her visions from coming true, which usually meant creating an elaborate plan, changing her entire identity and somehow convincing everyone around her that the new person standing in front of them definitely wasn’t Raven.
But some of those characters?
Raven wasn’t disguising herself as just anybody. She was turning into somebody’s auntie, church member, beautician or distant cousin who came to the cookout with a foil-covered pan.
6. Victor Baxter Opening The Chill Grill
Raven and Cory’s dad wasn’t just the funny sitcom father. Victor was a chef with dreams of owning his own restaurant, and eventually he made it happen with The Chill Grill.
Looking back, having a Black father on Disney Channel who was present in his kids’ lives, loved his wife, chased his own dreams AND became a business owner was pretty major.
Plus, Victor might have been the only person dramatic enough to actually match Raven’s energy.
That whole Baxter household was Black excellence mixed with pure chaos.
5. Cory Getting Checked During Black History Month
Cory Baxter learned quickly that you probably shouldn’t play around with Black History Month in the Baxter household.
In the classic episode “True Colors,” Cory initially treats his Black History Month school assignment like just another project he needs to finish.
That changes when he dreams about important figures from Black history and starts to understand why the history he’s learning actually matters.
And somehow, this wasn’t even the heaviest storyline happening in the episode.
4. Raven Owning the Runway
Raven Baxter loved fashion from the beginning of the series, but one episode made it clear she wasn’t going to change herself just to fit somebody else’s idea of what a model should look like.
After Raven’s design gets selected for a fashion show, she’s excited to model her own creation, until she’s basically told that her body doesn’t have “the look” they want.
Yeah… Raven wasn’t going for that.
Instead of disappearing backstage, she eventually walks that runway herself.
For young girls watching in the 2000s, especially Black girls who didn’t look like the ultra-thin models dominating fashion at the time, seeing Raven confidently take that runway hit differently.
3. Raven Dancing to Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love”
This might be one of the most early-2000s Black girl moments Disney Channel ever put on television.
Raven Baxter, Dancing to Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love.”
It’s funny looking back because there wasn’t some major lesson attached to the scene. It was just Raven being Raven.
But that’s also what made That’s So Raven special. Black culture didn’t always have to become the subject of the episode.
Sometimes Raven could just turn on Beyoncé and dance around her room like thousands of girls watching at home were probably doing at the exact same time.
You can’t explain the “Raven-ness” without this one.
2. Raven Exposing Racism at Sassy’s
“True Colors” wasn’t playing around. Raven applies for a job at Sassy’s and believes she has a pretty good shot at getting hired. Instead, Chelsea gets the job despite Raven being more qualified.
Raven eventually discovers the reason: the manager doesn’t hire Black people.
Yes, this was Disney Channel.
Instead of watering the storyline down, That’s So Raven directly showed Raven experiencing racial discrimination and then having her family and friends support her as they worked to expose what was happening.
For a generation of kids, this may have been one of their first times seeing workplace discrimination explained on a show made specifically for them.
More than two decades later, “True Colors” is still one of the episodes people immediately bring up when talking about how far That’s So Raven was willing to go.
1. Honestly, The Baxter Family Just Being Black
The Blackest part of That’s So Raven might not be one specific episode or viral moment at all. It was the fact that the Baxter family was allowed to simply exist as a Black family on Disney Channel.
There was Raven constantly switching up her hairstyles and outfits, Victor in the kitchen, Tanya knowing exactly when her kids were up to something and Cory getting on everybody’s last nerve. Even the way the family joked, argued and interacted with each other gave the show a personality that felt different from a lot of the other sitcoms airing on Disney Channel at the time.
That’s what made That’s So Raven special. The show didn’t only embrace Black culture when it was time for an episode about racism or Black History Month. It was baked into the show every week. Raven could be dancing to Beyoncé in one episode, rocking a new hairstyle in another and putting on a wig to become somebody’s auntie the next.
The Baxters could have storylines that were specifically about being Black, but they didn’t have to constantly explain their Blackness to the audience. Raven was still allowed to be a teenager who cared about fashion, boys, her friends and figuring out how to stop her latest psychic vision from completely ruining her life.
More than 20 years later, that might be the best way to explain the “Raven-ness” Keke Palmer was talking about. You didn’t necessarily need an episode to tell you That’s So Raven was a Black show.
