Al accepts a proposal from a fashion brand that has been involved in an unspecified racist scandal in order to help rehabilitate the brand’s image. Even though it’s obvious to Earn that the brand’s PR attempt at using prominent Black celebrities and “activists” is nothing short of superficial, Al counters that it will be good for his image because he has issues getting high fashion designers to collaborate with him the way they do with others — which reminded me of how actress and comedian Leslie Jones faced discrimination when no designers wanted to dress her for the premiere of the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot until designer Christian Siriano stepped up to the plate after she vented her frustrations on Twitter.

It’s so funny how there are no designers wanting to help me with a premiere dress for movie. Hmmm that will change and I remember everything

— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) June 28, 2016

“Atlanta” is always wearing its inspiration on its sleeve, so even if it wasn’t a reference to this specific incident, it’s definitely inspired by the real-life, racist double standards and lack of opportunity afforded to Black celebrities based on desirability politics. I can talk about this topic for days, but you’re here for a recap, so let’s stick to that.

Since Al is determined to take the deal, Earn suggests he use the opportunity to do some good for the Black community, and after meeting with some Black (and probably not actually Black) “activists” who are very obvious and amusing caricatures of real-life people, Al successfully pitches the “reinvest in your hood” campaign, which was designed to drum up support for Black-owned businesses. Unsurprisingly, the campaign is white-washed and bastardized beyond recognition, leading to a confrontation between an outraged Al and one of the corporate-savvy activists who tells him the harsh truth about the lack of sincerity when it comes to brands and companies that choose to adopt social justice aesthetics and lingo. That’s showbiz, baby.