Here Comes the Neighborhood

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"Here Comes the Neighborhood"
South Park episode
Token with one of his new friends.
Episode no.	Season 5 Episode 12
Written by	Trey Parker
Directed by	Eric Stough
Production no.	512
Original airdate	November 28, 2001
Season 5 episodes
South Park season 5 June 20, 2001 – December 12, 2001 Scott Tenorman Must Die It Hits the Fan Cripple Fight Super Best Friends Terrance and Phillip: Behind the Blow Cartmanland Proper Condom Use Towelie Osama bin Laden Has Farty Pants How to Eat with Your Butt The Entity Here Comes the Neighborhood Kenny Dies Butters' Very Own Episode
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List of South Park episodes

"Here Comes the Neighborhood" is episode 512 of the Comedy Central series South Park. It originally aired on November 28, 2001.

Plot synopsis

The children at South Park Elementary are presenting science projects. Token gets a check plus for presenting a computer model of predicted weather conditions, while the other students get checks and check minuses. Token Black, the token black child of South Park, happens to be the richest kid in town , and becomes upset when he can find no other kids in the school he can relate to. He tries to get himself and his family to act poor. They shop at J-mart, where the rest of the families buy their clothes. But when he comes to Stan's house with the other boys and brings a DVD instead of a video tape - Token's family being the only people in town with a DVD player - the boys realize that he hasn't changed. Hurt at his social estrangement, Token decides to arrange for dozens of rich people (who all happen to be black) such as Will Smith and Snoop Dogg to move into South Park, which leads to Mr. Garrison complaining about the "richers" in the town, which in turn leads to ire among the other, less affluent members of the community (who all happen to be white). However, Token discovers that the rich kids (who are even richer than him) are as different from him as he is from the poorer kids in town and all the rich kids play Polo, buy shops and talk with exaggerated British accents, and he feels so much like an outcast that he goes to live with lions in the South Park Zoo after the rich kids taunt him to do it.

The situation between the rich and poor residents of town continues as the gentrification escalates. Led by Mr. Garrison the townsfolk enact a series of measures. They decide to plant a lower case "t" (cross) for "time to leave" in the garden of some of the rich residents, setting it on fire to emphasize their point. They mock the rich residents by insisting they sit at the front of buses claiming it to be the "first class" section. They refuse to let them drink in the bars or eat in the restaurants. Finally, when the rich citizens gather in protest outside the city hall, the poor townsfolk try to scare the "richers" by dressing as ghosts in costumes that resemble those of the Ku Klux Klan. Throughout the episode despite the "richers" all being black, and the poor townsfolk all being white, and despite the re-enactment of various scenes from the height of black/white tension in America, at no point does anyone make any express reference to race, color or make any racist remarks. All the references are depicted as coincidental. The only racial references in the middle of the episode are made by the rich people themselves - they notice Chef working in his garden while they protest their treatment and, assuming that because he's black, he's rich, they call him to come and join them. When he points out that he's as poor as the townsfolk, they offer him $100 to support their cause anyway.

Token eventually decides he doesn't want to live with lions anymore (because they only play practical jokes) and leaves; however, he discovers that the poor kids in town who initially made fun of his money didn't really dislike him, but only picked on him because they all pick on each other on a regular basis. They decide to stop picking on him for his money, and instead mock him for his reaction to the previous insults.

Eventually the townsfolk dress as ghosts (resembling Ku Klux Klan robes) and terrify the "richers" into leaving town. The poor townsfolk gather around their abandoned houses. Mr Garrison suggests that by selling the empty houses the townsfolk can become rich. Jimbo and Randy wisely tell him that if they do they will become the very thing they hate. Garrison shrugs, "Well yeah, but at least I got rid of all those damn nig-", and the episode cuts to credits before he can complete the word.

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