Black Nerd Crush Blues: Myra Monkhouse Deserved Way Better

Did you know that everytime a Black nerd boy says, “Black women don’t like nerds” raisins find their way into a potato salad? I can’t tell you how over the “Black women didn’t like me cause I watched Dragon Ball Z / I was practicing Bruce Leroy’s glow choreography in the mirror” narratives I am. There’s this tendency to act as if Black Nerd Girls are scarce or a rarity if they weren’t within your immediate vicinity growing up. Look, I’ma tell you like staff writer Brittany Williams said it, “Black nerd girls aren’t a rarity. We ain’t unicorns. We been here all along.” Damn right, and you know who doesn’t get enough credit for being at the head of that charge? Myra Monkhouse. *Fist over mouth* I said, Myra Muhfuckin Monkhouse. How you going try to Mel Gibson (in What Women Want) Black Women with a generalization that they don’t fuck with nerdy Black boys [and technically implying they wouldn’t mess with same-sex nerdy Black girls either. It ain’t all about cis, sis] when on January 29th, 1993, season 4, episode 14 of Family Matters the teen crush game got crushed. The girl next door game got changed. Myra Boutros Boutros Monkhouse (say the whole name if you nasty) stepped on the tv screen and *Drake voice* nothing was the same.

First and foremost, let it be known that I’ll never claim Urkel as Black Nerd King (Dwayne Wayne first of his name the only godfather we acknowledge). I’ll admit he was funny (hilarious even) but “is this my nerd king?” No, he ain’t have that crow…