History Main / TokenWhite

* For a few issues of ''JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'' around 2009, the team consisted of Comicbook/{{Vixen}}, {{Firestorm}} (Jason Rusch), Comicbook/GreenLantern (John Stewart), Doctor Light (Kimiyo Hoshi), and {{Zatanna}}, thus making Zatanna the Token White.
* In Earth-23 of TheDCU, Batman is this for the Justice League.

** Lynn filled this role in ''Barbershop's'' DistaffCounterpart {{spinoff}}, ''BeautyShop''.

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*** Quarterbacks, kickers, and punters remain predominantly white, and are typically the specific token white on the field at any given time.

* Squid from ''RocketPower''. The Rockets were half-Hawaiian and Twisto was Latino.

* ''ADifferentWorld'' took place at a predominantly Black college - to show it was "predominantly" black and not "all" black they had a token white girl the first season, played by Marisa Tomei.

* Boogieman from the Milestone comic ''[[MilestoneComics Blood Syndicate]]'' was a fairly odd variant. A ''closeted'' White kid (he's a [[{{Animorphism}} were-rat]]) in a band of Black, Hispanic, and Asian (ex)GangBangers that were mutated (instead of killed outright like most in the area) by radiation-tainted tear-gas used to break up a big melee. He has some elements of PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy -- unlike the rest of the team he comes from a stable, middle-class family, and he talks like he stepped out of a rap video.

[[quoteright:350:[[{{ThatsSoRaven}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thatsoraven_chelsea_5350.jpg]]]]

* Similarly, Greg Wulliger in ''EverybodyHatesChris''. Though he's no more dorky than Chris himself.
** ALL whites are token in EverybodyHatesChris.
* Chelsea in ''ThatsSoRaven''. In the spin-off ''CoryInTheHouse'', Newt plays pretty much exactly the [[SpearCounterpart same role.]]
* ''TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'' did this occasionally with Will's goofy white classmates/friends, but even these eventually disappeared and were replaced with black BeavisAndButthead style sidekicks, only one of which had any staying power. For the first half or so of the series, there was also the hopelessly out-of-touch white teacher. Later, one of his aunts became involved with a [[strike:white]] [[UnusualEuphemism tall]] man...who eventually became so accepted by the family that he could make jokes about ''Carlton'' being white.

* ''FamilyMatters'' had this. Generally the only white guy on the cast was Carl's boss Lieutenant Lieu Murtaugh, and was shown to be, again, completely out of touch... with reality. There was also the occasional goofy white friend of the kids, who was often a "wannabe", trying desperately to [[PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy assimilate into black culture]], with everyone else practically straining their retinas rolling their eyes. And then there was the one episode with two cops who pulled Eddie over for being in a white neighborhood (though only one of them was actually racist, the other was just dragged along).

* Standup comedy shows with almost entirely black comics tend to have the one white, usually at the very end of the show. On {{BET}}'s former comedy showcase ''Comicview'', two white comics, White Chocolate and Gary Owens, were popular enough to ''host'' the show after their respective seasons (the most popular comics in a season get to host the next).

* ''{{Lincoln Heights}}'' made sure to have at least a couple whites prominent in the story. Always as a sidekick or love interest to one of the main black characters. Lund as the sidekick to {{The Hero}}, Charles as the boyfriend to {{the chick}} and later Sage as a foil to Cassie.

On a {{Sitcom}}, they're often either the "uncool" one or [[TheDitz the ditz]]. This is probably because the others are viewed as less AcceptableTargets, but when you really think about the [[UnfortunateImplications implications]] of the white member of a diverse group being lame, it starts to seem like a BrokenAesop. On a BlackSitcom they're always naive, goofy, or dumb, and they always have the stupid lines, though they can be academically smart. That seems to be a "revenge" for the stereotypes of black people that reigned in the television since its foundation.

A white member of a multi-ethnic team tends to stand out even more than the traditional TokenBlack and is more likely to be [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]]. When the VerySpecialEpisode about racism comes along, it won't be about them. If the episode is about learning about and respecting someone else's culture, they'll be the one who "needs" to learn it most, and it's never about their own culture.

In some cases the token white will be part of a non-racial minority group, such as being disabled, gay, or Jewish. This has the ironic result of diversifying so much as to exclude the majority "normal" group. In this case, the token white's whiteness might still make them an Acceptable Target, but their own minority status will not, and might even give the others something to learn about tolerance.

On a {{Sitcom}}, they're often either the "uncool" one or [[TheDitz the ditz]]. This is probably because the others are viewed as less AcceptableTargets, but when you really think about the [[UnfortunateImplications implications]] of the white member of a diverse group being lame, it starts to seem like a BrokenAesop.

** In a touch of irony/TokenMinorityCouple, the remix to their debut single "This is Me" [[AWildRapperAppears featured]] Kain, the lone white rapper in the Bad Boy stable.

* ''SanfordAndSon'' has Officer "Hoppy" Hopkins, the only regularly recurring white character. He could best be described as being mildly retarded.

* [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] on ''{{Malcolm In The Middle}}''. While [[TwoferTokenMinority Stevie]] is the token black of the main kids, [[BumblingDad Hal]] winds up becoming the {{Token White}} of his friends, who are all black.

* Of the four central members of LetsPlay/MarioPartyTV, Steeler is the TokenWhite-Holms, Mr. Doom, and Clel are black.

* One of [[DaveChappelle Dave Chappelle's]] jokes is that all groups of black friends should have at least one TokenWhite in their group:

** In a touch of irony, the remix to their debut single "This is Me" [[AWildRapperAppears featured]] Kain, the lone white rapper in the Bad Boy stable.

On a SitCom, they're often either the "uncool" one or [[TheDitz the ditz]]. This is probably because the others are viewed as less AcceptableTargets, but when you really think about the [[UnfortunateImplications implications]] of the white member of a diverse group being lame, it starts to seem like a BrokenAesop. On a BlackSitcom they're always naive, goofy, or dumb, and they always have the stupid lines, though they can be academically smart. That seems to be a "revenge" for the stereotypes of black people that reigned in the television since its foundation.

* In Coming To America: Eddie Murphy as "Saul" the old Jewish guy in the barbershop. Best line - when the king arrives draped in a lion skin - "What is that? Velvet?"

On a SitCom, they're often either the "uncool" one or [[TheDitz the ditz]]. This is probably because the others are viewed as less AcceptableTargets, but when you really think about the [[UnfortunateImplications implications]] of the white member of a diverse group being lame, it starts to seem like a BrokenAesop.

* Keith and his mother are the tokenwhites in LikeFamily.

* As is ''SisterSister''. (BrittanyMurphy was the first of them.)

*** Except, interestingly, Quarterback, by far the most visible position on the team and probably the most important. At both NCAA and NFL level, White quarterbacks are still common. Oftentimes they'll be the ''only'' White players on the field. Indeed, nearly all of the most well-known NFL quarterbacks (Joe Namath, John Elway, Bret Favre, etc) have been white.

** Also fairly common on the sports teams of said colleges. In the case of football, the kicker and/or punter will almost always be a token white.