As I remember how I used to enjoy sitting in front of the television and watching the escapades and adventures of Beaver Cleaver on Leave It To Beaver when I was a young boy I’m also trying to recall exactly how it felt.
I can’t imagine that my experience of growing up in “K-Town” on the West Side of Chicago could provide much in the way of establishing a brotherhood with “the Beave.” But I guess the fact that he was a little kid putting up with his parents was enough for us to bond spiritually. There are certain things that are universal, I suppose.
Something that I do remember is that I never saw Beaver getting a spanking or whipping. Nor did I ever see Beaver’s parents, Ward and June Cleaver, argue. Now, that was very unlike my personal experience. Don’t get me wrong: I was far from abused and grew up in a household filled with love and laughter, and I’m blessed that I’m able to enjoy that same love and laughter today. It’s just amazing how sanitized television was back then.
Actually, Leave It To Beaver was so sanitized that during it’s 5-year run only one African-American had a speaking role, and that was in only one episode, which aired during the show’s last season in 1963; an African-American actress by the name of Kim Hamilton played the role of a maid in that episode.
But hey, over time I’ve discovered that things are not always as they seem. It could very well be that June Cleaver and the maid bonded off camera in ways that people could never have imagined back then. Just check out June breaking it down to the brothas in the video.
Now that I think about it, I may have seen her driving through K-Town during the ’68 riots…
The Muse Minefield
June Cleaver and A Little Black Boy in K Town
Tags: African-American Issues, Barbara Billingsley, Culture, Family, History, Icons, Leave It To Beaver, Media, Society, Televison
As I remember how I used to enjoy sitting in front of the television and watching the escapades and adventures of Beaver Cleaver on Leave It To Beaver when I was a young boy I’m also trying to recall exactly how it felt.
I can’t imagine that my experience of growing up in “K-Town” on the West Side of Chicago could provide much in the way of establishing a brotherhood with “the Beave.” But I guess the fact that he was a little kid putting up with his parents was enough for us to bond spiritually. There are certain things that are universal, I suppose.
Something that I do remember is that I never saw Beaver getting a spanking or whipping. Nor did I ever see Beaver’s parents, Ward and June Cleaver, argue. Now, that was very unlike my personal experience. Don’t get me wrong: I was far from abused and grew up in a household filled with love and laughter, and I’m blessed that I’m able to enjoy that same love and laughter today. It’s just amazing how sanitized television was back then.
Actually, Leave It To Beaver was so sanitized that during it’s 5-year run only one African-American had a speaking role, and that was in only one episode, which aired during the show’s last season in 1963; an African-American actress by the name of Kim Hamilton played the role of a maid in that episode.
But hey, over time I’ve discovered that things are not always as they seem. It could very well be that June Cleaver and the maid bonded off camera in ways that people could never have imagined back then. Just check out June breaking it down to the brothas in the video.
Now that I think about it, I may have seen her driving through K-Town during the ’68 riots…