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LataraSpeaksTruth

Some faces stay with you, even when the credits roll. Ernest Thomas is one of those faces. Born March 26, 1949, in Gary, Indiana, Ernest Thomas came up during a time when Black actors had to be intentional about the roles they accepted. He trained seriously as an actor, studying the craft rather than chasing quick visibility. That foundation showed up on screen. Most people know him as Raj Thomas on What’s Happening!!, which aired from 1976 to 1979. Raj wasn’t loud or flashy. He wasn’t written as a joke or a stereotype. He was thoughtful, principled, and observant…a young Black teen who wanted to write, think, and do right by the people around him. In a sitcom era built on exaggerated characters, Raj stood out by being grounded. Ernest Thomas played that role with restraint and purpose, which is why it still resonates decades later. After the show ended, Thomas didn’t disappear. He continued working steadily in television, film, and theater, often choosing character roles over chasing the spotlight. He also spent years involved in stage work and mentoring, staying connected to the craft and passing knowledge forward. Longevity, not hype, became the throughline of his career. Years later, audiences caught a familiar face when he appeared on Everybody Hates Chris. The moment landed because it wasn’t nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake. It felt earned. A reminder that staying power matters, and that some careers are built quietly, on consistency and respect for the work. Ernest Thomas’s story isn’t about chasing fame. It’s about staying solid. And sometimes, that’s the most lasting legacy of all. #ErnestThomas #RajThomas #WhatsHappening #ClassicTelevision #BlackTVHistory #70sTelevision #TVLegends #CharacterActors #EverybodyHatesChris #TelevisionHistory #CulturalHistory

Joseph Robinson

"In 1952, Marilyn Monroe went to an all-Black club in LA—and the photo almost cost her best friend his career." Before Marilyn Monroe became the world's biggest star, she was a girl who grew up poor in foster homes across Los Angeles. One of those homes was with the Bolanders, whose father delivered mail in Watts—a predominantly Black neighborhood where most of Hollywood wouldn't dare to set foot. While other white starlets kept their distance from communities of color, Marilyn felt at home there. Her poverty and her proximity to people of different races shaped her into something Hollywood wasn't expecting: a blonde bombshell with progressive politics and a refusal to stay in her lane. In 1952, Marilyn was on the verge of superstardom. She'd just wrapped Don't Bother to Knock and was about to start work on Gentlemen Prefer Blondes—the film that would make her an icon. Her costume designer and close friend William Travilla had become one of the few people in Hollywood she truly trusted. One night, Marilyn and Travilla did something that "just wasn't done" in 1952 Los Angeles: they went out to an almost exclusively Black club. They drank, laughed, and were photographed sitting casually with a Black man whose name history never recorded. To Marilyn, it was just a night out with friends. To 1952 Hollywood, it was a scandal. When the photo surfaced, studio executives weren't pleased. Interracial socializing—even just being photographed in the same frame—could damage careers, tank box office numbers, and create PR nightmares in an era when segregation was still legal in much of America and miscegenation laws banned interracial marriage in many states. Travilla and his longtime partner Bill Sarris would later tell the story of how they "got in trouble with their employers" over that photo. The studio system had eyes everywhere, and stepping outside racial boundaries—even socially—carried real consequences. But here's what made Marilyn Monroe different she stood with them

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