Five Ways In the Heat of the Night Shined the Light on Racism

The popular TV series, In the Heat of the Night, which was based on the 1967 Sidney Poitier film of the same name, became a groundbreaking, water-cooler show when it debuted in 1988. For seven years, the themes surrounding racial tensions in a small town (Sparta, Mississippi) in the American South kept viewers tuned in. It’s been 20 years since the show, starring Carroll O’Connor as Police Chief Bill Gillespie, went off the air.

So, considering the controversial race-related events of 2015, just how far have we come? Let’s look back at how In the Heat of the Night shined the light on racism in America.

A black detective is hired to join a nearly all-white police department:

The major theme of the series is set from the start when during the pilot episode, Virgil Tibbs, (famously played by Sidney Poitier in the movie and portrayed by Howard E. Rollins Jr. on TV), returns to Sparta where he is hired as chief of detectives on a predominantly white police force.

A white Southerner stands up for what’s right:

When Tibbs is badly beaten by redneck thugs in part two of the pilot episode, Gillespie stands up for his partner and lays down the law to the other officers that they will work with Tibbs and like it.

A white man comes to terms with a bigoted part of his past:

During Season Two, a deeply conflicted Chief Gillespie is forced to face bigotry from his past when he makes the tough call to arrest a close friend—the sheriff of a neighboring county—for committing a racially motivated murder.

For the first time, a black woman is hired to join a small-town Mississippi police force:

In Season Three’s “First Girl,” episode, Gillespie breaks new ground when he hires Christine Rankin, the Sparta Police Department’s first female black officer.

A community bonds over harassment of an interracial couple:

A track meet at the local high school is the setting during a Season Seven episode where a white girl, whose boyfriend is black, is shot by a sniper. The police and community come together to determine who was the real target of the shooting.