To be a blerd is to live at a crossroads. We’re typically lodged somewhere between stereotypically Black, incredibly geeky, and subconsciously bourgie. We are current and classic. We are nerdy and trend-setting. And a certain teenager from West Philadelphia and his crew epitomized living at the crossroads of blerdy and bourgie on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Yes, I’m talking about Cousin Will and the Banks Family, one of the first accidental blerd ensembles to steal our hearts.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, another in a long-line of period-defining and long-running Black sitcoms, is a hallmark of blerd-dom for a plethora of reasons. There was Geoffrey, the “quick with the shade” butler. There was Jazz being literally thrown out of the house upon every visit. And there was Uncle Phil (no explanation necessary because he is literally everyone’s dad).

The characters were what made the show memorable for any watcher. For blerds, there were a couple of features which took our fandom to the next level. Blerds remember the notable guest stars like Tyra Banks and Nia Long. Blerds can do “The Carlton” better than Alfonso Ribiero. Blerds wanted to go to ULA – the University of Los Angeles – and be a Peacock (don’t act like you don’t know the song…you’re probably humming it right now). We all knew full well it was not a real school. We just hoped it was.

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