“Switched at Birth” went all out to show the power of taking a stand for what’s right in it’s recent episode, “Occupy Truth.” Continuing the campus racism story from its last few episodes, this one was told from the perspective of primarily four black students, Iris, Sharee, Keeshawn, and Chris, instead of our regular protagonists. It's a bold move for the show, in its final season, to divulge from the main plot and characters to focus on a very critical issue right now. Did it work for them? Yes, absolutely.
Not many shows today will directly pick up headlines and turn them into meaningful, heartfelt storylines. SAB took the means it had and churned a telling tale that's not really fiction at all. A lot of the complaints from this episode were because the nucleus of it wasn't Bay or Daphne or Regina or John or Kathyrn. The show takes a deep dive by tackling the issue of race by ACTUALLY tackling it and showing it from the perspective of those who go through it, not just those who listen about it.
That's the beauty of this show. It's not shy. It's not holding back. It's also not forcing only one particular narrative down our throat. It's expanding on our view-points by expanding its own. One thing is for certain, the show is ending with a bang!
Let's review what went on in "Occupy Truth."
After a couple of white students left cotton balls on the lawn of the Black Student Union, their punishment was a three-day suspension. This did not sit right with BSU. Led by Iris (Sharon Pierre-Louis), they began a silent protest. She took this a notch further by going on a hunger strike. As we begin this episode, she narrates the rules of their protest and the demands they’re going to make:
1) Expulsion of the students who left the cotton balls as a prank, when it actually symbolizes slavery. 2) The number of black students and faculty be increased by 10%.
Keeshawn (Philip Smithey) and some other students want to make more demands such as studying black history in the curriculum, renaming the Sherman building because it’s named after a slave owner, having a black board member to decide on scholarships. Iris thinks too many demands will dilute the value of what they’re doing. He disagrees. They shouldn’t have to compromise.
Daphne, now fully involved in this process, recounts her own protest from Carlton and tells them it's worth it to make all their demands. They need 1000 signatures in support if they want to be reviewed by the Dean. However, by the deadline, they only get 803. Luckily, Sharee (Bianca Bethune) walks in just in time with another 311 signatures.
Turns out, whens she first started asking for signatures, Sharee had no luck. Someone who stopped to talk to her about this, a white guy from UMKC, ends up telling her that this is “reverse racism,” which he explains is demanding for extra privileges and money than what you have. She’s disheartened. Later, at The Cracked Mug, she takes advice from Regina and decides to share her experience of when she was four and was called the N-word for the first time. We even see Regina’s vulnerable side as she recalls going to the fair with her parents as a child. While waiting in line, someone told them to “go back” and she had a hard time figuring out what that meant. “It’s difficult for a kid to understand the hate, especially when it's coming from an adult, and for something they can’t change,” she tells Sharee.
Meanwhile, Iris faces quite a battle ahead of her because the interview she gave to a blogger about #Starving4Change is trending. We find out that her father is white. Her mother died when she was nine so she was raised by mostly the white family she's known. Keeshawn blatantly tells her he’s taking over because this movement needs to be represented by someone who has faced adversity, not someone who has grown up rich or else they’ll look like frauds. “Money doesn’t protect me from racial injustice,” she says, not wanting to argue about which of them is blacker. “You were saved from a piss-poor education,” he retaliates, wanting to take over the whole protest. Iris reminds him that she started it and she’s the one who hasn’t eaten in days.
In the midst of all this, they receive the Dean’s response that the students responsible for the cotton ball incident have been disciplined based on school policy already and won’t be expelled. This news takes a toll on Iris because she realizes her starving has made no difference. Keeshawn, on the other hand, riles the group up to stop the silent protesting and do something that will finally make them noticeable. Their solution is to take down the Sherman sign from the campus building. It may be construed as vandalism, but at this point, they’re frustrated and want this civil disobedience to happen.
As they’re removing the sign, he notices Professor Morello aka the Assistant Dean in the parking lot and approaches her as she gets into her car. He yells at her, demanding to know why no one is paying attention to them. Shares pulls him away. “This is not the way,” she tells him as he breaks down, not knowing what way is correct. Keeshawn visits Iris, who fainted earlier, and tries to convince her to eat. She doesn’t back off because she knows it’s the only way to be taken seriously. It’ll take resolve but she’s determined.
Chris Walker (Sam Adegoke), the new baseball pro at UMKC, is determined to not get involved with the campus issues. Bay is his designated driver, as promised by Kathryn. She lets him know early on who her boyfriend is: his baseball frenemy Travis, with whom he got into a fight last week. Sharee asks Chris to sit out the next big game as a way to make a statement. Maybe the Dean will take him more seriously than he does the BSU. He outright refuses because the sport is way more important to him than anything else.
Later that night, when Bay is late to pick him up, he decides to just take his bike and ride home.
He is unable to unlock his bike and drops the key. While searching for it, campus police spot him and don't believe he’s a student at the school. He tries to explain the situation but they ask for some ID. Unfortunately, he’s left his wallet upstairs but the cops refuse to go with him. Instead, they harass him and forcefully arrest him after throwing him on the sidewalk. Just as he’s being dragged away, Bay and Travis arrive and sort the whole thing out. Clearly, this has deeply impacted Chris.
The following day, at the game, Chris tells John he's sitting this one out. Naturally, John isn't very supportive of this in the beginning and reminds Chris of the scouts waiting to see him and the team that's depending on him. Chris requests his teammates to sit out the game with him and in a heartfelt speech, narrates the experiences he's had. Travis, being the cutie he is, is the first to support Chris. Eventually, the whole team joins in. This moves John, who tells the athletic department head Mike to speak with the Dean directly. He does but Dean Peterson refuses to be 'bullied' by students and does not budge, causing UMKC to forfeit.
At the BSU, everyone applauds Chris for taking a stand. Iris and Keeshawn strut in, all happy, because taking inspiration from the baseball team, other UMKC teams didn't play their games either to show support. Finally, Iris gets a call from the Dean and the students who left the cotton balls have been expelled. He even wants to meet them to discuss the rest of their demands. Cue the powerful chanting from the crowd: BSU! BSU! BSU!
"Occupy Truth" is inspired from the Black Lives Movement and from racism problems cropping on every campus now. They had to provide a resolution in the 40 minutes they have, however, we are all aware of how in real life, there is no quick fix. Through this episode and through the eyes of Iris, Sharee, Chris, Keeshawn, each of whom suffer their own struggle, we get a mere glimpse into reality.
It's no easy feat and that's why, for "Switched at Birth," this was a victory.
