‘Dukes Of Hazzard’ Not Racist — Because It Had Black Characters? Here’s Why That’s Not Enough Information

If you’ve logged in to Facebook recently, you’re probably aware that the Dukes of Hazzard has been pulled from TV Land’s lineup. You’re probably aware, too, that there is a lot of debate about whether a Confederate flag on the roof of the Dukes’ car makes the Dukes themselves, the show, or the creators racists.

There are a lot of factors here. Some have concluded that the mere inclusion of the Confederate flag makes the entire show a promotion of racism. On the other hand, the Daily Banter counted black characters in Dukes of Hazzard — I’m not kidding — in order to determine whether or not the show is racist.

The conclusion was that with 19 black characters over seven seasons, Dukes of Hazzard had a higher black-character-to-episode ratio than Seinfeld or Friends.

The problem here is not, however, that the Dukes were racist, or that the show was. The real problem is one of understanding racism and symbolism, and the difference between a ban and a voluntary removal.

The difference between a ban and a removal seems to confuse a lot of people, so let’s get that out of the way: If the government says you can’t have it, it’s a ban. If a government agency announced that Dukes of Hazzard had to be pulled from television, the show would be banned. However, in the current situation, Viacom has pulled the Dukes from its channels out of a concern for consumer reaction, and it has the freedom to reverse the decision if and when they decide the customers want it.

As for racism, that’s a much more complex subject. There is more than one kind of racism. Overt racism would be a specific statement or action against a specific race or group of races — like calling all Mexican immigrants to the U.S. criminals and rapists.

It’s unlikely you could find an example of overt racism in Dukes of Hazzard. The Dukes were kind-hearted, helpful people — who, yes, did happen to run moonshine.

However, there’s no question that the Confederate flag on the General Lee is a symbol, and that it originated in a war over the right to own people. Sure, the Civil War was about states’ rights, but it was specifically about the states’ right to decide for themselves whether people in that state could be allowed to own other human beings as property.

As for numbers of black characters — well, this actually does matter. Hollywood isn’t great at diversity, and a lack of black characters is still a problem in new movies and shows. According to Neatorama, producer Gy Waldron deliberately placed black actors in roles with authority, such as the federal agents who investigated Boss Hogg, because he was bothered by the lack of diversity in the cast.

Increasing diversity in movies and shows is great and important, and should be done more often, even now, 30 years after Dukes of Hazzard has come to an end. It’s a good sign that the people behind the show had good intentions.

However, the problem with all of the speculation is this: It’s hard to pin a television show down as “racist” or “not racist.” Television reflects the current culture, and American culture still carries a lot of inequality.

Can we declare a verdict that Dukes of Hazzard is clearly racist or clearly not racist? Not really. Instead, we can conclude that Dukes of Hazzard is a show about a family that isn’t overtly racist in any actions we can see, but does represent itself with a symbol that has strong connections with racist motives and behaviors.

In the end, Viacom gets to make the decision about whether to air a show they own (though customers can certainly contact them with opinions that may influence that decision either way) — and anyone who is really missing Dukes of Hazzard can buy the DVDs or watch on Amazon.

[Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]