Top 10 Nerds of Color

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