'Cosby Show' Star Malcolm-Jamal Warner Reflects on the Sitcom's Legacy

— -- On the 32nd anniversary of the premiere of "The Cosby Show" Tuesday, actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner reflected on the show that made him a household name.

In spite of "the unfortunate controversy plaguing this show's legacy" -- a clear reference to Bill Cosby's ongoing legal battles -- Warner, who played son Theo Huxtable on the show, noted that the sitcom had a huge societal impact during its eight years on the air.

The fictional Huxtable family, he added, "forced white America and black America to recognize the black upper middle class, shedding light on the fact that black folks did live like the Huxtables and inspiring many more to achieve that 'American Dream.'"

"However, I'm conflicted celebrating this post [because] with that said, it's obvious that the world we live in still has much more work to do," he wrote. "The show has not prevented black men from being shot by police even if their hands are up. The impact of the show has not protected black men and black women from the confusion, intimidation, sheer hatred, and downright ignorance of a large part of white America (and in some cases, black America). The struggle continues."

Though Warner did not discuss specific conflicts between police and Black Americans in his post, he reflected on the state of race relations in this country, noting that "black people [are] still fighting ignorance and hatred."

"We HAVE come a long way in this country that we helped build and that should be celebrated, while at the same recognizing we still have a long way to go. And fighting and beefing with each other only gets in the way of collectively paying attention and staying collectively focused on protecting ourselves from the forces and people seriously trying to hurt us," he wrote. "#BlackLove shouldn't be relegated to just black couples. It should be the standard in how we see, treat, & respect each other."