Raven-Symoné Questioned If Her Famous Disney Channel Character Was Really Black
Raven-Symoné Questioned If Her Famous Disney Channel Character Was Really Black
Leyla MohammedWed, September 2, 2026 at 1:44 PM UTC
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Back in April, Raven-Symoné and her wife, Miranda Pearman-Maday, sat down with actor and comedian Kalen Allen for a wide-ranging conversation on their podcast,Tea Time.
Robin L Marshall / Getty ImagesAmid the chat, the former child star challenged the idea that her famous That’s So Raven character, Raven Baxter, was Black.
© Disney Channel / Courtesy: Everett CollectionFor context, the 2003 Disney Channel series followed Raven, a psychic teenager, as she navigated the typical challenges of adolescence — like high school and dating — while trying to keep her visions a secret. The show also starred Kyle Massey as Raven’s brother, T’Keyah Crystal Keymáh as her mom, and Rondell Sheridan as her dad, as well as Annelise Van Der Pol and Orlando Brown as her two best friends, Chelsea and Eddie.
©Disney Channel/Courtesy Everett Collection
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For years, That’s So Raven has been praised for its Black representation, with Raven becoming the first Black woman to have her name in the title of a Disney sitcom. The show’s success ultimately paved the way for a new generation of Black Disney stars, including China Anne McClain, Skai Jackson, and Zendaya.
© Disney Channel / Courtesy: Everett CollectionSo naturally, OG Disney fans were confused over Raven’s recently resurfaced comments questioning her onscreen character’s Blackness.
Maya Dehlin / Getty ImagesAfter acknowledging that people “judge” her for some of the things she says, Raven insisted, “I love my Blackness. But my Blackness can look so many different ways,” prompting Kalen to respond, “But you were also set up, ‘cause Raven Baxter was so fucking Black.”
Tea Time w/ Raven & Miranda / Viayoutube.com
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Raven then paused and asked, “Was she Black?” to which Kalen enthusiastically replied, ”She felt Black as hell to me!”
Tea Time w/ Raven & Miranda / Viayoutube.comAfter Raven questioned “why” the character felt Black to him, Kalen said, “Because it was the first time that I had seen this Black family.”
©Disney Channel/Courtesy Everett Collection“So, you saw color. Take away the color, make them green. And hear the words. What color are they?” Raven replied, with her wife, Miranda, agreeing before adding that some of the people who “wrote” Raven’s character were white.
Tea Time w/ Raven & Miranda / Viayoutube.com
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Going on to describe the show as “universal,” Raven said, “Thank God it was Black facing, so you see people of color and we [had] the representation. But I think that was what was so beautiful about That’s So Raven…Her best friend was white, her other one was Black,” before adding that she felt Eddie was more the “culturally Black” character.
Tony Rivetti / ©Disney Channel/Courtesy Everett CollectionAfter this conversation resurfaced on X and TikTok, several fans are recalling the multiple times that race — specifically Blackness — was discussed on That’s So Raven, not to mention the mannerisms, style choices, and other subtleties that made the show feel deeply rooted in Black culture. In fact, there were even episodes directly centred around racism and racial profiling, which Kalen actually mentioned to Raven earlier in the conversation.
Disney Channel / Via x.com
Plus, what made Raven Baxter such a great Black representation was the fact that she didn’t conform to lazy stereotypes, like the tough or angry sidekick. She was a non-white leading character with her own bold, ambitious dreams, which was particularly rare to see on the Disney Channel in the early ‘00s. And yes, Blackness is not a monolith — but she certainly represented a type of Blackness that made a whole generation of viewers at home feel seen.
One X user wrote in response to Raven’s remarks, “what do you mean that’s so raven wasn’t black? it had so much black history… & it was an entire episode based on raven not getting hired because she’s black … hello.”
Phillip Faraone / Getty Images
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“Did she forget that there was an entire episode of that’s so raven about racial profiling lol,” someone said, while another tweeted, “the Baxters were undeniably Black! Tonya had locs. Raven wore braids. Victor talked about soul food. Cory had a whole episode about writing a paper for Black history. Della Reese was a jazz singer. They wouldn’t hire Raven bc of racism!”
Disney Channel / Via x.com
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“That’s So Raven was Black as hell. Raven Symone will NOT gaslight me lmao,” someone said.
One more person added, “I get Raven’s point but when I ‘take away the color + listen to the words’ I still hear a BLACK family. I think the point SHOULD be that a BLACK family is very relatable to all demographics even in their blackness and it’s why That’s So Raven is legendary, because it proved that!”
Let us know what you think in the comments, and check out the full conversation for yourself here.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
