Minorities on Television: Were the 80s and 90s Less Racist?

I was flipping through the channels last night when I came across a rerun of Family Matters. Immediately filled with nostalgic childhood memories I watched for a few minutes, remembering the days when sitcoms were actually awesome. And the '80s and '90s really did have some great shows for the whole family. Besides Family Matters there was Full House, The Cosby Show, and of course, Fresh Prince. Oddly enough, three out of four of these shows feature almost entirely all-black casts.

What I find really remarkable about this is that everyone I knew back then watched these shows. They were for everyone, not just people of color. Now, however, the only show I can think of that centers on a black family is Tyler Perry's House of Payne, and I don't think I know anyone who watches that show. Otherwise, the only recent show I can think of featuring a leading actor of color that people actually watched is Battlestar Galactica, which actually had a fairly diverse cast. Besides BSG, there aren't just a whole lot of shows that feature minority actors on a regular basis. The ones that immediately come to mind are Dollhouse and Firefly, as examples of cancelled scifi shows, and also Glee, and shows with black sidekicks, like House, The Vampire Diaries, and Psych. All of these shows, however, have white leading actors with people of color who show up mainly to help the lead characters in some way or to serve as the episode's b-plot.

So does the decreasing popularity of shows with all-black casts signal that our television shows have become more racist since the early '90s? Or is it a good thing, since we're now pushing for more diverse and inclusive casts (although we're obviously not making as much progress as we should be)?

Was the heyday of Steve Urkel and Bill Cosby racist in itself? Maybe those shows were a form of segregation, so other shows wouldn't have to include people of color? The networks could say, "Look at these shows featuring black families! Their existence proves we're not racist!" Or perhaps the shows catered specifically to white audiences: "These black families are so normal! Just like white families! So there's nothing to be afraid of!" I'm inclined to lean toward this argument, but I'd love to hear what others think.