After the Show: The Nod Is Real! Unpacking Black 101 on 'Black-ish'

The nod. Ah yes, that unspoken acknowledgement of universal Blackness. It’s like Black 101; “basic Black.” The Nod is a crucial reminder that things are Black, as usual. The Nod is universal like a ‘Hey, I see ya, bruh’ and I know what you know.

Sadly, Andre Jr. (Marcus Scribner) has no idea what the nod is and so Andre (Anthony Anderson) spends the episode trying to acquaint him with the essential gesture, even going so far as to troll for Black friends at a local bus stop. In the end, he realizes, junior and his tribe of nerds may not have “the nod” but they do have their own way of communicating. Because “no matter what your fight, you still need your community.”

But here, a smattering of some of my favorite tweets about The Nod tonight:

Hard to explain the exact sentiment. Closest explanation I ever heard for #TheNod. “I don’t know you. But I know what you’re going through.”

— Tabula Rasa (@FrancisinMD) October 9, 2014

#TheNod is real. I give it to my natural sistahs all the time and vice versa. Lol #naturalhair #Blackish

— Aaqila (@4everQila) October 9, 2014

Gotta hit people with the nod!!!! It’s the black people rule!!!! Lol!!!#blackish #thenod

— Bird-man1 (@Burgess1W) October 9, 2014

Random Thoughts:

Did the kids really say “Yass, Gaga, yass!” like this guy?

Even Sweet Brown got a “Ain’t nobody got time for that!” shoutout on tonight’s episode.

Nerd is the new Black. No argument here.

They really played “No Flex Zone.” We bet anything Tracee Ellis Ross had a lot to do with that choice of song. Watch the actress try to understand it here, and here.

Are ’80s and ’90s babies really the last children of The Nod?” Say it ain’t so. What’s your experience? Do you think teenagers nowadays know “the nod?”