7 Reasons You Need To Watch FX's Snowfall

The racial divide between whites and African Americans is epitomized by Franklin Saint, the 19 year old student, who quit school in the Valley because he felt like a mascot. When he's at his (white) high school friend's home with Leon, a boy from the neighborhood, Leon asks Franklin why didn't he want to stay here. Franklin replies that simply "It ain't home."

Later on, during a pool party at said friend's home, Franklin is the only African American. When they are out of cocaine, he's the one that's supposed to get it. When he confronts his friend about it, he's confused and doesn't know what to say.

Franklin is obviously right, he's just a mascot and his inclusion is only complete when he does what's expected of an African American. He's associated with drugs and the ghetto. This is a time before rap music, when dark skin wasn't yet a signifier of natural coolness. Being an African American in the 1980s, well before the L.A. riots, means responding positively to any kinds of awkward acceptance, no matter how uneasy it makes one feel.