A black sitcom is an American term meaning a sitcom that features a primarily black cast or an African American in the lead role. Although sitcoms with primarily black casts had been present since the earliest days of network television (and indeed predate network television, as popular radio sitcoms included Beulah and Amos 'n' Andy), this genre rose to prominence in the 1990s.

The favorite programmes of television audiences tend to reflect their different ethnic origins/affinities. The exposure of the black community on US TV has been greater than that of other minorities but continues to reflect racial divisions within American society. (To date there has been a scarcity of Latinos and Asians on American TV and "Latino sitcoms" or "Asian sitcoms.")

Since US networks were criticized by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for allegedly failing to portray the racial diversity of real world settings drama shows such as The West Wing have cast more black characters. However few hit television shows achieve a crossover audience. Black and white Americans still have very different viewing preferences. Dramas with a strong non-white theme and cast are seen as not commanding a financially viable prime-time audience. Nevertheless the black audience is able to sustain targeted programming. Black households make up over 20 percent of regular TV viewers.

Tichina Rolanda Arnold (born June 28, 1971) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for having portrayed the roles of Pamela James on the FOX sitcom Martin and the family matriarch Rochelle on the UPN/CW sitcom Everybody Hates Chris.

Tichina Arnold was born to a middle-class family in Queens, New York. Her mother was a sanitation department worker and her father was a police officer. She attended the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. Her penchant for performing began in her childhood, holding church congregations enthralled as a four-year-old. When she turned eight, her mother and uncle encouraged her to audition, and she won a part in her first play The Me Nobody Knows at the Billie Holiday Theater in Brooklyn^{[citation needed]}. She continued to perform in the theater and at supper clubs, starring in such production as Hair, Romance and Hard Times^{[citation needed]}. She then landed bit parts in TV movies such as The Brass Ring in 1983 and PBS' House of Dies Drear the year after^{[citation needed]}. Arnold has one sister.

John Elroy Sanford (December 9, 1922 – October 11, 1991), better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American comedian and actor, best known for his starring role on the sitcom Sanford and Son.

Foxx was born in St. Louis, Missouri and raised there and on Chicago's South Side. His mother was half Seminole.^{[citation needed]} His father, an electrician, left his family when Foxx was four years old. Foxx was raised by his mother, his minister, and his grandmother. He briefly attended DuSable High School with future Chicago mayor Harold Washington.

In the 1940s, he was an associate of Malcolm Little, later known as Malcolm X. In Malcolm's autobiography, Foxx is referred to as "Chicago Red, the funniest dishwasher on this earth." Foxx earned the nickname due to his reddish hair and complexion. His stage surname was taken from baseball star Jimmie Foxx. During World War II, Foxx dodged the draft by eating half a bar of soap before his physical, a trick that resulted in heart palpitations.

Foxx gained notoriety with his nightclub act (considered by the standards of the time to be raunchy). His big break came after singer Dinah Washington insisted that Foxx come to Los Angeles, where Dootsie Williams of Dootone records caught his act at the Brass Rail nightclub. He was signed to a long term contract and released a series of comedy albums that quickly became cult favorites.