All the Times ‘That’s So Raven’ Taught Valuable Lessons About Racism, Discrimination, Hazing, Fire Saftey, and Body Image
It wasn’t all silly disguises and Raven’s crazy visions. Sometimes, That’s So Raven taught viewers valuable lessons, even touching on racism and discrimination in the workplace. Here are a few of the most important episodes of the Disney Channel original series.
‘True Colors’ Season 3, Episode 10
In this episode, Raven and Chelsea decide to get jobs in retail. When they both go for the interview, Raven clearly knows more about fashion but Chelsea ends up getting the position. It’s then that Raven has a vision where the manager of the store says “I don’t hire black people.” That’s discrimination, Eddie tells Raven.
With the help of her friends and family, Raven exposes the clothing store and the manager for being racist. Raven and Chelsea, of course, don’t end up working there, but they helped make the situation better for future employees.
‘Members Only’ Season 4, Episode 16
Although Raven, Chelsea, and Eddie are still in high school, there are groups that are basically like college fraternities. The coolest group of guys is the “Sigmas,” who, after seeing Eddie hanging out with his gang, think he’s a ladies man. Raven, Chelsea, and Eddie just play along because they want to get into the parties.
It’s not easy to join the Sigmas, though. Eddie basically goes through a hazing process, carrying the others’ books, cleaning their lockers, and reciting the “pledge” over and over again. By the end of the episode, Eddie decides he wouldn’t want to be friends with them anyway.
‘Be Prepared’ Season 4, Episode 8
This episode of That’s So Raven primarily takes place at Raven’s internship for Miss Donna Cabonna. After a meeting with Maria Shriver, Donna Cabonna signs up to help with a disaster preparedness plan. The problem? The office is totally not prepared for an emergency.
Thanks to the Boyz in Motion and an actual emergency that turned out to be a false alarm, both Raven’s job, and her home are better prepared for a fire, flood, or earthquake, encouraging viewers to do the same
‘That’s So Not Raven’ Season 2, Episode 11
Raven has always dreamed of being a fashion designer. She enters one of her designs into a magazine contest. She becomes a finalist in the competition, but in the magazine they severely photoshop her to be thin. Raven confronts the editor and chief, who tells her that she doesn’t have “the look.”
After some extreme exercising, Raven realizes that she’ll never have “the look,” but that isn’t the only look. She defies the editor in chief and wears her gown on the runway, proving that people are beautiful no matter their shape or size.
‘Five Finger Discount’ Season 3, Episode 5
During the “Five Finger Discount” episode of That’s So Raven, Cory has his first brush with peer pressure. He starts hanging out with the “cool” crew and quickly realizes that if he wants to stay cool, he’s going to have to steal something and prove his dedication. And he does.
Before Raven can even figure out what Cory did, his guilt eats him alive and he ends up putting the keychain he stole back. Good thing, too, because the other kids he was hanging out with got in trouble for stealing with the police.
