In <i>Black Lightning</i>, There’s No Right Way to Fix a City

This story contains spoilers for the first four episodes of Black Lightning.

In the second episode of the new series Black Lightning, Principal Jefferson Pierce addresses a group of parents who have become increasingly concerned about the gang problem in their community. In a spirit of optimism, he quotes Martin Luther King Jr.: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Without missing a beat, one fed-up parent replies, “They shot Dr. King in the head.”

This quick exchange sums up some the most prominent themes in The CW’s latest comic-book adaptation. , which debuted last month, offers what is arguably the most timely and nuanced portrayal of the internal conflicts that can arise within the African American community on the subject of racial justice—both what that entails and how to achieve it. Cress Williams plays Jefferson Pierce, the principal of his former high school and, secretly, a former superhero with the moniker “Black Lightning.” He had hung up the electrifying costume (and was presumed dead) and turned to gentler ways of trying to save