Race in The Walking Dead is portrayed very differently than other mainstream television shows. Morgan, a black man, is in a position of power over Rick, a white man in the first episode. Rick is coming from a coma and has no idea about why the outside world is the way it is and is virtually helpless and wounded in his hospital gown. Morgan and his son Duane take Rick under their wings, and help him until he is better. The creators of The a Walking Dead could have easily made Morgan a stereotypical black man, a gangster with no respect for anyone who loots and pillages, but instead they made him a father. A husband. A helping hand. They completely ignored the archetype of a thug and turned it around to make it something positive. The scene in which he was going to shoot his wife, Duane is downstairs reading a comic like any regular pre teen boy. Morgan goes upstairs and sets up the gun to shoot her, but is havingb difficulties. He is shaking and crying over the prospect of shooting his wife, and it is humbling to see such raw emotion. Furthermore, even though their family isn't the same, it is obvious that Morgan had a huge part in his son's life before the apocalypse. This breaks away from the stereotypical black man who is absent and nonchalant about his children. I also was glad to see that he and Rick worked so well together and there was no kind of racial tension. The portrayal of race in The Walking Dead was refreshing and should be emulated.