A black sitcom is a sitcom that principally features black people in its cast. Prominent black sitcoms to date typically come from the United States with African American casts. Although sitcoms with primarily black characters have been present since the earliest days of network television, this genre rose to prominence in the 1990s. History Early twentieth century In the early days of television, black actors were often cast in stereotypical roles, often as comic clowns in a tradition tracing back to the genre of black minstrelsy popular in the early 20th century. The first television sitcom to portray black people, Amos 'n' Andy, was widely popular among diverse audiences. The actors on the original radio show were both white, but the 1951-53 television show portrayed them with black actors, and represented black individuals as businesspeople, judges, lawyers and policemen. After over 70-odd episodes had been broadcast, it was taken off the air after protests from specific groups including the NAACP, who alleged that the show engaged in stereotyping. Afterwards, there were no all-black sitcoms shown in the U.S. until the 1970s. 1970s–1980s A series of popular black sitcoms appeared in the 1970s, including Sanford and Son, Good Times, That's My Mama, The Jeffersons, and What's Happening!!. These sitcoms were widely popular amongst diverse audiences, while celebrating black culture. In the 1980s sitcoms such as The Cosby Show, A Different World, and Frank's Place, challenged stereotypical portrayals of black people and were well received. 1990s After the 1980s, the major U.S. television networks appeared to lose interest in black sitcoms. In the 1990s, newer networks such as Fox, The WB and UPN, anxious to establish themselves with a black audience, featured black sitcoms such as Martin and Living Single, which drew high ratings among black households and were profitable even with a limited white viewership. Though there were some black sitcoms successful with white audiences in the 1990s such as Family Matters, Moesha, Sister, Sister and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, the number of new programs continued to decline. From 1997 to 2001, the number of black sitcoms on U.S. television declined from 15 to 6 as white viewership declined, and that decline has generally continued. Civil rights organizations have accused networks of denying minorities equal opportunity as well as a broader participation in general television programming. 2010s By the early 2010s, black sitcoms had faded away on broadcast/network television