How Not To Put The 'King' Back Into 'Martin Luther sKiing'

Since the ongoing project of Dre Johnson (and of Black-ish in general) has been to make sure his privileged children understand why they shouldn't take all their advantages for granted, it's only natural that the show's Martin Luther King Jr. Day episode would revolve around an exploration of...you know, the reason for the season. So when Dre has to endure the one-two punch of Dre having no clue why the March On Washington was a big deal and finding out that his feathery-haired white friend Zach has parents who mark the day more reverently than any of the Johnsons do (teaching literacy at a prison? We get it, Zach's parents, you're good people!), he has one of his typical radical overcorrections, deciding that the drive to the ski resort where they always spend the MLK long weekend will be the perfect venue for him to screen all million hours of Eyes On The Prize -- partly in a show of respect, and I guess also partly to test whether any of his kids is prone to carsickness? So much blurry and/or jerky footage, Dre!

Unfortunately, Dre's forgotten that joining the Johnsons (plus Zach) on this particular trip is Charles, who's mooched an invitation by mourning about having never seen snow, and once he and his apparent nemesis, Diane, have exchanged a chilly greeting (more on this plot thread, please!), all the guys (minus Jack) end up in Charles's car, where a multimedia presentation isn't going to be possible, and Dre's going to have to content himself with nothing better than flashcards of what Junior refers to as civil rights "trivia." Dre decides that he'll have a better chance at getting through to Junior with some oppression object lessons, and thinks he's going to get one when Charles gets pulled over...but then the (white) trooper has nothing more to investigate than Charles's expired tags and lets him go with a warning -- which Charles is happy to get given...whatever's in his trunk. (At least we know it's not Diane.)

Dre then assumes they'll get profiled when they stop for snacks at Whitey's, but the clerk could not be more friendly and uninterested in Dre and company; even Dre's blatant attempt at shoplifting comes to nothing since he's been filling his pockets with free candy left over from Hallowe'en. And when Dre does fulfill his objective of getting them all kicked out, it has nothing to do with race...and everything to do with hygiene.