In an episode from 2018, the actor Glynn Turman sat on a sofa with his arm draped affectionately around his wife, Jo-An, as the two recounted their experiences together for the documentary series “Black Love.” Amid talk of marriage, children and a meet-cute at Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles, Turman paused to broaden the conversation with an impassioned plea. “We’re not angels, we’re not saints — we’re human beings,” he said, speaking about the perception of Black Americans and their relationships. “Let’s not leave out any of the wonderful, wonderful love and the bonds that we, as a people,” have shared, “having gone through an extremely, extremely unique experience in this country.”“To have us come through it,” he added, “with our loved ones, and what that all entails, is not only important, it’s biblical.”On Saturday, “Black Love” returns to the Oprah Winfrey Network for a fourth season, at a time when Turman’s words and the show’s honest portrayal of Black lives seem even more urgent. But in a year marked by pandemic and protests over racial injustice, the series also offers respite and nuance — an alternative to the relentless imagery of a Black American experience bounded by anguish and rage.

Source: New York Times September 03, 2020 18:20 UTC