TV networks pledged to improve diversity in 1999. Will this time be any different?

Kweisi Mfume was not having it when he declared war on broadcast TV.

Mfume was president of the NAACP in July 1999 when he became upset after scanning the fall schedules of the four major broadcast networks and saw that none of the 26 new comedies and dramas being launched had a minority performer in a leading or prominent role.

"When the television viewing public sits down to watch the new prime-time shows scheduled for this fall's lineup, they will see a virtual whitewash in programming," Mfume said at the time, before the explosion of cable networks and streaming platforms that have often proved more inclusive of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) talent. "This glaring omission is an outrage and a shameful display by network executives who are either