When James misses out on a good job because of his age, the family's celebration party turns sour.
J.J.'s painting of a black Jesus coincides with good fortune coming to each family member.
Facing eviction, James tries to win money at the pool hall, J.J. comes up with a scheme of his own and Florida and Willona go to the welfare office.
An old friend of James who is now a shady televangelist offers him a $100-per-day job that doesn't sit well with Florida's morals.
Michael is suspended from school after proclaiming that George Washington was a racist.
Florida tries to discover the owner of a dirty article that belongs to Thelma's boyfriend.
J.J.'s new art sponsor is a criminal whose patronage is unwelcome by James.
Florida and James try to get to the bottom of J.J.'s poor performance in school.
Michael's angry letter about the conditions in the ghetto prompts a visit from the city housing commission.
When Michael brings a local wino home, Florida's chances of being named as having the cleanest apartment in the projects are dimmed.
Florida is offered a role in a TV commercial but has second thoughts when she learns more about the product.
The Evanses become concerned about James's possible hypertension.
A popular girl wants J.J. to paint her portrait, but Florida and Thelma smell a rat.
Florida's strange behavior has everyone wondering what the problem might be.
After his birthday party, J.J. is arrested on suspicion of robbing a liquor store.
Desperate to raise bail to free J.J., the family considers taking money from a loan shark.
To avoid being bused to a white neighborhood, Michael forges his parents' names on a questionnaire.
Michael must write an essay on the person whom he most admires and selects his father as the subject.
Thelma's mysterious boyfriend is too old for her parents' liking.
Michael, one of the brightest boys in his class, comes home with the news that he scored the lowest out of his whole class on an I.Q. test.
An encyclopedia salesman is the last person James wants to see when he comes home from work. However, he softens when he learns the man is blind. This leads James to sign a contract and reads the fine print only after the man leaves.
J.J. secretly has become a member of the Satan's Knights, a gang who are in the midst of a gang war with the Warlords. Two members and the leader of the Satan's Knights arrive at the Evan's home to escort a scared J.J. to a meeting place where the two gangs are to tangle. However, on the way there they run into James and Florida and a scuffle ensues leaving J.J. shot.
J.J. is recovering after being shot by Mad Dog, which only turned out to be a flesh wound. Meanwhile, a vengeful James presses charges against Mad Dog but a worried Florida is afraid James's anger will take over before the law does.
A wedding has Florida realizing that Willona is the only friend of hers left that isn't married. So this leads Florida to try her hand at matchmaking, and matches her with a friend of James'.
James finds a bag of robbery loot adding up to $27,000. After some coaxing from Florida, James decides to turn it in. However, what Florida doesn't know is that there was $29,000 in the bag and James kept the other $2000.
Cousin Naomi is visiting the Evans' for the Christmas season. However, her visit is not a happy one for Thelma, who discovers that Naomi is hiding a serious drinking problem.
James is sure he's going to get a sales position at a department store but when he brings Florida along on the interview he is in for a big surprise, the supervisor would rather hire Florida rather than him.
Florida is going to night school hoping to achieve a High School Equivalency diploma, but her working in the daytime and going to school at night puts a strain on her relationship with James.
A woman aks J.J. to paint a nude portrait of her as a birthday gift for her husband. However, Florida has a hard time understanding why a woman would pose in the nude and why she has to pose in the Evans' apartment.
Realizing his mechanical skills, Florida suggests that James open a fix-it shop but when they go to the bank, they're turned down for a loan. This leads James to set up shop right in the apartment, despite a clause in the lease.
J.J. is enchanted with his new girlfriend, Clarissa, and is all set to take her to a ritzy debutante ball. However, Clarissa has come to the Evans' apartment with some bad news, her parents won't let her go with J.J., citing that they think she's too good for him.
An elderly resident of the projects appears to be living on pet food after Michael takes out her garbage. The Evans family's attempt to do something for her is complicated when she brings a meat loaf to dinner and the kids suspect it is made from dog food.
A childhood friend of James' arrives for a visit and quickly his gambling problem becomes an Evans family problem when two hoods show up looking for him to pay off a $5000 debt.
The Evans family's joy at finally getting to meet J.J.'s girl Henrietta is shrouded by J.J.'s declaration that his immediate future could include Henrietta and matrimony.
The Evans' family is hit with a double dose of unemployment blues after both James and J.J. lose their jobs. Wanting to support his family, J.J. decides to join the U.S. army.
Thelma has a chance at winning a scholarship to an exclusive boarding school in Michigan. However, even before she knows she won, a snobby girl from a fraternity comes around wanting Thelma to join and quickly discovers they just want her because she's black.
A bully has been stealing Michael's lunches which prompts James to give him some tips on how to handle the situation. However, Michael surprises everyone with his own tactic, he invites the bully home for the weekend.
James' new trade-school diploma leads him to a high-paying job prospect, but it's in Alaska.
James brings a gun home to protect his family.
James insists on a level of care he can't afford when Florida needs a gallbladder operation.
Thelma's engagement plans aren't well received by James and Florida.
Needing financial help, Florida asks her formerly affluent cousin for a loan.
James and Florida celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary in a cabin, but Florida can't stop worrying about the kids.
The Evanses throw a baby shower for a friend who has decided to give her child up for adoption.
With James out of town, Florida takes action when Michael starts misbehaving.
The family members choose sides in the election for district alderman.
Willona fears her new relationship with a deaf man is moving too fast.
After serving the family meat that makes them sick, Florida organizes a protest against the market and winds up in jail.
J.J. is commissioned by a bank to paint a mural depicting ghetto life.
After an epic strikeout, J.J. loses his confidence in women.
The FBI comes calling when Florida's nephew is on the lam after robbing a bank.
Thelma discovers that James' father is alive and living in Chicago, but James is reluctant to see him.
Michael's elderly friend chooses the Evans apartment as the perfect place to draw his last breath.
J.J. defiantly plans to marry his girlfriend, but he does not know that she is a heroin addict.
J.J.'s elopement plans are dashed when his girlfriend finds herself needing a fix but without dope.
J.J. new patron is Sweet Daddy Williams, the most notorious criminal in the projects.
The FBI investigates the Evanses because Michael had written to Cuba asking for information for a school project.
After his ex-girlfriend tells him he has V.D., and embarrassed J.J. visits the local clinic.
After Florida's boss takes her out to lunch, she has a confrontation with a jealous James.
Thelma must decide whether to move to California with her fiancé.
The Evanses throw a rent party and talent show to help an elderly neighbor in need.
While celebrating a move to Mississippi and out of the ghetto, the family receives the shocking news that James has been killed in a car accident.
Florida's stoic reaction to James' death has the kids upset by her lack of emotion.
J.J.'s romance with an older woman is more serious than he can handle.
With the community upset about gang violence, Michael must hide his own gang membership from Florida.
With Michael's latest crush herself crushing on J.J., the brothers are at each others' throats.
When J.J. refuses to speak on Alderman Davis' behalf at a fundraiser, the family is threatened with eviction.
With the family once again short on funds, J.J. takes a job with a group of criminals.
J.J.'s new employers are into more than he knew, and he narrowly escapes being arrested when the cops come calling.
Grandpa Evans' Thanksgiving visit causes trouble for Florida when he brings along his girlfriend.
After winning the lottery, the Evans are robbed at gunpoint by Thelma's tutoring student.
Florida meets a charming widower when Willona takes her out for the evening.
J.J. takes on management of a plump but talented white songstress.
Owing money to bloodthirsty thugs, J.J. must take the stage to perform standup comedy.
The kids sell underwear out of the apartment to raise money to send Florida on vacation.
Thelma wins the auction of love with Ibe, a Nigerian student whose African customs have followed him to Chicago.
Thelma must decide whether to accept Ibe's marriage proposal, which also involves moving to Nigeria.
Willona's womanizing ex-husband appears and tries to convince her that he has changed his ways.
With Florida away, the kids throw a party, but a guest overdoses on pills and J.J. has to save his life.
Florida is horrified by Michael's new atheist views.
A reluctant Florida agrees to go out with Carl, but the date doesn't go as planned.
Trouble ensues when Michael invites Carl to a father-son dinner rather than J.J.
J.J.'s fledgling greeting-card business struggles to survive.
After telling the kids he plans to marry their mother, Carl suddenly dumps Florida because he has been told he has cancer.
After revealing the truth about his lung cancer, Carl proposes to Florida and she happily accepts.
When young Penny Gordon follows J.J. home, she tells the Evanses tall tales about her life without mentioning her abusive mother (Chip Fields). But when Penny changes into a dress, a stunned Willona and Thelma discover the girl's badly bruised back.
Willona and the Evans children are convinced that Penny is being abused and discover that she has an injured arm, caused by her abusive mother, but the doctor who treats Penny refuses to believe that she is a victim of child abuse.
Willona and the Evanses are stunned to discover that Penny and her mother have moved, but soon find the girl hiding in the Evans apartment. Later, Penny's abusive mother abandons her, leaving Willona to ponder adopting the battered youth.
While Willona worries about the adoption, Bookman tries to help by telling the social worker that he is Willona's husband.
Fed up with her brothers and her lack of privacy, Thelma moves in with three roommates.
Willona's new job in department-store security requires that she spy on changing rooms through a one-way mirror.
J.J. and his friends buy Bookman's beat-up old car and argue over who gets to drive it.
While using a CB radio, Michael makes a connection with a teenage paraplegic girl.
Fed up with Bookman's incompetence, Willona, Penny and the Evans kids start a petition that gets him fired.
J.J., Willona and Michael suspect that Thelma's new boyfriend is married, but find that he is a former bigamist doing time in a halfway house.
When local wino Fishbone is mistakenly believed to have been killed, he attends his own wake dressed in drag as a mourner.
When Penny steals a necklace from a department store, Willona faces the possibility of losing custody of the girl.
J.J. assumes the role of father figure when Michael starts to slack off, prohibiting his brother from attending an awards dinner.
When Willona rejects an old boyfriend's proposal, Penny thinks she's holding Willona back and tries to run away.
J.J. dates his sexy new assistant, who is also the boss's daughter.
With a hole burned into a couch cushion, the Evans kids each flash back to their versions of how it happened.
Afraid he will be passed over for a promotion in favor of a white man, J.J. has a crazy dream in which he experiences being white.
The Evanses fear that their new boarder may become the target of a hitman.
J.J.'s relationship with a married woman gives him an ulcer.
Already suspected of infidelity by his wife, Bookman is caught with Willona in a compromising situation.
James' father visits and proposes marriage to his neglected girlfriend.
Willona reconsiders her marriage plans when she hears her boyfriend's old-fashioned views on marriage and women in the workplace.
Thelma's play is selected as the community theater's latest production, but not without a flurry of changes demanded by the theater's director.
With J.J. out of town, the cast puts on a talent show to save a local daycare center.
Thelma accepts a marriage proposal from college football star Keith Anderson, who is negotiating a lucrative NFL contract.
Florida arrives home after hearing of Thelma's engagement, but J.J. loses his job.
To pay for the wedding, J.J. takes a loan from Sweet Daddy Williams. But while walking down the aisle, Keith injures his knee.
The day after the wedding tragedy, Florida rallies the family together while Sweet Daddy Williams comes calling for his payment.
Florida competes with a relative of Alderman Davis for a job as a school-bus driver.
When Penny's 13-year-old friend becomes pregnant, Willona tells Penny that the friend has "stomach mumps".
J.J.'s art student has a violent father who refuses to allow his son to take the lessons.
Michael plans to move in with a white female roommate whose parents' attitudes make him reconsider.
Bookman's new female assistant has a crush on J.J.
J.J. is caught in the middle when he witnesses an accident between Sweet Daddy Williams' girlfriend and Keith's taxi.
Stuck in a blizzard, Florida and her school bus passengers take refuge in an abandoned building.
With Keith obliged to work on Christmas Eve, the family takes the party to his taxi garage and puts on a show.
Florida's plan to purchase a house falls apart.
A young rider of Florida's school bus has trouble hearing, but the boy's mother doesn't believe it.
Sweet Daddy Williams needs a blood transfusion, and J.J. shares his rare blood type.
With Penny sick and in the Evans' care, Florida finds frustration when seeking medical help.
J.J. gets romantic with Bookman's female assistant.
Florida's anxiety over an upcoming physical is worsened when Michael is mistakenly arrested.
Willona is framed by Penny's birth mother as unfit to care for Penny.
The series finale finds good fortune for each character and an exit from the ghetto.
Keith's sudden mood swings are the result of his dependence on alcohol.
J.J. is named winner of an art contest, but with his student's painting.
Florida's cousin Raymond is a gambler who wants to lease the family an upscale apartment.
