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Rainbow 'Bow' Johnson
Played By: Arica Himmel and Tracee Ellis Ross (as an adult)
Our protagonist, a young mixed-race teenager trying to navigate the world outside the hippie commune she'd been raised in.- '80s Hair: Tries to replicate this in "Let Your Hair Down" so her hair could be considered "neat" with a relaxed hairdo that was popular in the era but forgot to wrap her hair for gym class.
- Bratty Teenage Daughter: A very mild example, as she's usually pretty sensible, but she is still just as prone to falling into the usual hang-ups teenage girls have.
- Child of Two Worlds: Has a bit of angst over this, as she doesn't feel like she completely fits in with the white or black kids.
- Inelegant Blubbering: She's embarrassed by how ugly she looks when she cries.
- Only Sane Man: Occasionally has to play this to the rest of her family.
Alicia Johnson
Played By: Tika Sumpter
Bow's mother, a lawyer working at her father-in-law's practice and helps Bow embrace her Black heritage.- Happily Married: With Paul.
- Hippie Parents: Albeit, she's a bit more pragmatic than Paul.
- Lady in a Power Suit: Often dressed as one, as befitting her occupation as a lawyer in the mid 1980s.
- Stop Being Stereotypical: In "Parents Just Don't Understand", she's appalled by the way rap artists present themselves, as her own generation had to fight hard to gain respect from mainstream white America.
Paul Johnson
Played By: Mark-Paul Gosselaar
Bow's father, a stay-at-home-father.- Actor Allusion: Paul told a teacher at the school she was Saved by the Bell
- '70s Hair: Holds on to this style in the mid-1980s all in contrast with the rest of his family who are acclimating into 1980s suburban America.
- Happily Married: To Alicia.
- Hippie Parents: Moreso than Alicia.
- Odd Friendship: With sister-in-law Denise, where he even is super aware of her favorite tv shows.
- Soapbox Sadie: Not the most prominent part of his character, but prominent enough that he's got to be considered a rare male example of the trope. When it comes to societal injustices, sexism and racism, he can rant with the best of them — he doesn't always quite grasp the actual issue at hand, but unlike many examples of the trope he's generally willing to listen and learn if he realizes he's wrong on an issue..
Johan Johnson
Played By: Ethan William Childress
Bow's younger brother, who has started to try adopting a street culture and masculine attitude.- Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome: He is the middle child in this series between the young teenaged Bow and the little Santa Monica. In black•ish, he's a stereotypical Millennial making him the younger of his sisters.
Santa Monica Johnson
Played By: Mykal-Michelle Harris
Bow's younger sister who has a very sassy attitude.- Attention Whore: She needs to be at the center of it all.
- Little Miss Snarker: Every other line she says is a sarcastic quip.
Harrison Jackson III
Played By: Gary Cole
Bow's paternal grandfather who owns a law firm.- The Beard: When we meet his ex-wife/Paul's mother, it is revealed she is a lesbian. Given the era they started raising Paul in, it was likely she married Harrison as a cover.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: Played for laughs in his backwards views, but he is still relatively open-minded for a man of his time.
- Doting Grandparent: For all his jerkish tendencies, he really loves his grandkids and spoils them when he can.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He has views comparable to Archie Bunker's, but he is ultimately a devoted father/grandfather and has his moments of kindness.
- Why Couldn't You Be Different?: Expresses exasperation with his son multiple times over his lifestyle choices.
Denise
Played By: Christina Anthony
Alicia's sister.- Cool Aunt: She tries to be this to the kids. On occasion she even succeedes.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Denise is selfish, self-centered, inconsiderate, intolerant and a bit of a hypocrite, but at the end of the day she's there for her family.
- Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places: Is really hoping to settle down with a good stable partner, admitting that she's jealous of her sister's solid marriage to Paul.
- Odd Friendship:
- Has one with Harrison. She's a Sassy Black Woman from the hood whereas Harrison is a wealthy, Reagan voter with his own law firm.
- Develops this with Paul, to the point where he knows her favorite tv shows.
- Sassy Black Woman: Plays into the Sibling Yin-Yang between her and Alicia.
