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Mister Robinson's Neighborhood: Gentrification
SKETCH-O-VISION
A VERY GOOD USE OF YOUR TIME.
The setup
Watch on YouTube
Watch onYouTube
The premise
Here’s the bit.
Mister Robinson returns to his neighborhood with a reworked theme song and explains to the boys and girls that wealthy white newcomers have transformed the block and priced out its Black residents, while he hangs on by claiming squatter's rights. His new neighbors Damien and Micah from apartment 7F knock to ask, very carefully, whether he has seen their missing television delivery; he turns the question into an accusation of racism, sends them off apologizing and rejects their holiday party invitation. A second knock brings Patrick, a young man whose DNA test says Mister Robinson is his father, and Mister Robinson slips away to call the police about the stranger at his door before signing off.
The funny people
Meet the cast. 3
Say it with us
Highly quotable.
It's like a magic trick. White people pay a lot of money, and then poof, all the black people are gone.
Damien and Micah are my new neighbors. They paid $1.2 million for an apartment where Mr. Robinson's friend Frankie used to cook crack.
Oh, you think I stole your TV because I'm black?
A little extra
Notes from the archive.
Eddie Murphy revived Mister Robinson for his first time hosting Saturday Night Live in 35 years; his previous hosting appearance was in December 1984. SNL Archives counts this as Mister Robinson's tenth appearance. Chris Redd voices Patrick, who is heard only through the closed door.
The rabbit hole continues
One more couldn’t hurt.
More from across the archive.
