yes he was... and he gave as good as he got against Archie Bunker, the white racist... some of the best scenes were the two of them together.
Also important... 40 years ago... the friendship among meathead, gloria and Lionel. Plus... Edith and Louise were friendly neighbors who were color-blind, at least from Edith’s perspective, she didn’t care that the Jefferson’s were black.
And Good Times, and Sanford and Sons... important shows, breaking through the color barrier....
There was even one episode where Lionel went off on Meathead because he found him to be the typical condescending White Liberal.