Top 10 Nerds of Color

It’s cool to be an intelligent, slightly geeky person of color. But that’s not usually the impression one gets from pop culture, where Steve Urkel and Carlton Banks are still the prevailing images of African American nerds. So, where are all the cool nerds of color? UrbanFaith columnist Jelani Greenidge shares his list of some of the most positive nerdy role models from TV and film. And, don’t worry, Urkel and Carlton are not included.

Top 10 Geeks and Nerds of Color

10. Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown) from Finding Forrester

9. Smart Brother (Gary Anthony Williams) from Undercover Brother

8. Kevin Blake (Trevor Jackson) from Eureka

7. Betty Suarez (America Ferrera) from Ugly Betty

6. Moss (Richard Ayoade) from The IT Crowd

5. Leo Prince (Baron Vaughn) from Fairly Legal

4. Huey Freeman (voiced by Regina King) from The Boondocks

3. Troy Barnes (Donald Glover) and Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi) from Community

2. Burton Guster (Dulé Hill) and Shawn Spencer (James Roday) from Psych

1. Alec Hardison (Aldis Hodge) from Leverage

1 Comment

Lil Marie on July 24, 2012 at 6:35 pm

Thank you Jelani for this list. Plus I really enjoyed your video tribute to the Top 10 Nerds of Color. This was so refreshing. Most of them I knew about but a few I did not. As a Christian woman who’s a fan of science fiction and fantasy I especially like this because I like seeing strong intelligent characters of color on film and television instead of the usual stereotypical ghetto-rapper-thug versions or the poor oppressed black woman or slutty black woman or angry black stereotypes that fill the airwaves. Also just wandering about “Eureka,” you pointed out Kevin but they’re at least 3 other nerds of color on that show: Kevin’s mom, Dr. Allison Blake, super physicist Henry and Henry’s wife. I’m curious did you pick Kevin because he’s more popular or because he’s young? I ask because Allison and Henry are main characters on “Eureka.” In fact Allison is considered the program’s leading lady. Too bad the show’s been cancelled. Thanks again for the list and tribute video. I wish I’d seen your video when you first posted it but better late than never. Thanks again. God bless.

Lil Marie on July 24, 2012 at 6:35 pm

Thank you Jelani for this list. Plus I really enjoyed your video tribute to the Top 10 Nerds of Color. This was so refreshing. Most of them I knew about but a few I did not. As a Christian woman who’s a fan of science fiction and fantasy I especially like this because I like seeing strong intelligent characters of color on film and television instead of the usual stereotypical ghetto-rapper-thug versions or the poor oppressed black woman or slutty black woman or angry black stereotypes that fill the airwaves. Also just wandering about “Eureka,” you pointed out Kevin but they’re at least 3 other nerds of color on that show: Kevin’s mom, Dr. Allison Blake, super physicist Henry and Henry’s wife. I’m curious did you pick Kevin because he’s more popular or because he’s young? I ask because Allison and Henry are main characters on “Eureka.” In fact Allison is considered the program’s leading lady. Too bad the show’s been cancelled. Thanks again for the list and tribute video. I wish I’d seen your video when you first posted it but better late than never. Thanks again. God bless.