Black cinema has left us with some unforgettable memories. Some of our best Black sitcoms aired decades ago, but they are hard to forget years later. They didn’t just entertain us; they left us with memorable quotes that some of us recite to this day. These lines remain amusing and relevant today, fitting into several everyday situations. In this article, we present some of the most iconic and quotable lines from Black sitcoms and movies that we think you’ll love. Here are a few of them in no particular order.
1. Coming to America (1988)
Coming to America remains a national treasure years after its release. It left us with one of the most iconic lines in Black sitcom and movie history. There are many options to choose from, but here are a few:
Reverend Brown: Girl, you look so good; someone ought to put you on a plate and sop you up with a biscuit.
Clarence/Eddie Murphy: Sh*t. That ain’t nothin’ but Ultra-Perm.
Clarence/Eddie MurphyOh, there they go. There they go. Every time I start talkin’ ‘bout boxing, a white man got to pull Rocky Marciano out they ass. Dat’s dey one. Dats dey one
Eddie Murphy: Good morning, my neighbors.
Unknown man: F**k you
Eddie Murphy: Yes, yes, F**k you, too.
Eddie Murphy: Bark like a dog
Morris/Arsenio Hall: Pound for pound, Sugar Ray Robinson was the greatest fighter ever to live.
2. Malcolm X (1992)
Malcolm X: We didn’t land on Plymouth Rock! Plymouth Rock landed on us.
Oh, I say it, and I say it again. You been had. You been took. You been hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, run amuck! This is what he does.”
3. The Players Club (1998)
Diamond: Make the money, don’t let it make you.
4. The Color Purple (1985)
Sophia: All my life I had to fight. I had to fight my daddy. I had to fight my uncles. I had to fight my brothers. A girl child ain’t safe in a family of men, but I ain’t never thought I’d have to fight in my own house! I loves Harpo, God knows I do. But I’ll kill him dead fo’ I let him beat me.
Shug Avery: You sho is ugly!
5. Drumline (2002)
Sean Taylor: You’re the best, Devon. But when you’re on the field, nobody hears you. They hear the band. One band. One sound.
6. Friday (1995)
Smokey: Older the berry, the sweeter the juice.
Craig: Man, it’s the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice.
Smokey: Yeah, well she blacker than a motherfucker too.
Craig: Bye, Felisha.
7. Black Panther (2018)
Killmonger: Hey, auntie!
M’baku: I’m kidding. We are vegetarians.”
8. New Jack City (1991)
Nino Brown: You’re incapable of running this city. Sit your five-dollar a** down before I make change.
9. Dreamgirls (2006)
Effie: Well, what am I supposed to do? Deena’s beautiful, and she’s always been beautiful but I’ve got the voice, Curtis! I’ve got the voice! You can’t put me in back, you just can’t!
10. Soul Food (1997)
Maxine: Ahmad, what are you doin’ in the ladies’ bathroom?
Ahmad: Yo Bird! Big Mama said to bring yo’ black ass out there!
Maxine: Boy, Big Mama told nobody’s black ass to go nowhere!
11. Tales From The Hood (1995)
Newton: Damn it, man, this is no time to panic!
Strom: Then when the fuck do we begin to panic?
12. Harlem Nights (1989)
Vera: Oh! Now you’re gonna shoot me in my pinky toe.
Quick: I’m not playing with you. I will blow that little black, gnarled crusty, dead motherfucker the fuck off your foot! Now, put the razor away!
13. Baby Boy (2001)
Sweet Pea: I don’t wanna reach the gates, and Jesus be like: “Turn yo ass around, nigga.”
14. School Daze (1988)
Grady: In life, there are times to be quiet, to shut the fuck up. This is one of those times.
15. Brown Sugar (2002)
Dre: You are the perfect verse over a tight beat.
16. Boomerang (1992)
Angela: Love shoulda brought your ass home last night.
#Clique, how many of the iconic Black movie and sitcom lines do you remember or know by heart? Several fans of Black sitcoms and movies swear by these lines and even quote them with the crew or by themselves. So, check them out and let us know if we left out any you think should have made the list.