Tolkien Black, formerly known as Token Black[4] and Token Williams, is a male fourth grader at South Park Elementary and is voiced by Adrien Beard. His name is a play on words referring to the politically-correct idea of the "token black guy" commonly featured on American television shows; it is revealed in "The Big Fix" that his name is actually "Tolkien".
Tolkien Black is a regular member of Craig's gang and is most notable for being the only black child in South Park, other than guest characters and Nichole. His name refers to the phrase "token black guy", a black man placed into a television show for racial diversity. His birthday is June 20. He is also known to be one of the smarter boys, being a straight-A student.
Tolkien made his first appearance in the series pilot episode, "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", where he appears as a background character. In early episodes, he was an unnamed character, however, in "Gnomes", his name was revealed by Mr. Garrison.
His first major role was in "Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000", in which the boys were competing in a sled race against the girls. Tolkien made fun of Cartman's weight by saying: "Yeah! And with Cartman's enormously fat ass, the boys are sure to win!". Angered, Cartman throws a rock at him, giving him a black eye. However, because Tolkien is an African American, the FBI assumes this was a racist act. Cartman is tried in a federal court and convicted of a hate crime and was sentenced to juvenile prison.
After realizing that they had no chance against the girls without Cartman's fat ass, Stan and Kyle go to Tolkien's house and ask him to help them get Cartman out of prison. The boys then put on a presentation before the governor, complete with visual aids, in which they detail their opposition to hate crime laws, declaring it as "savage hypocrisy".
They argue that all forms of crime warrant some sort of hate, and the laws serve only to encourage discrimination further, impressing the governor and securing Cartman's release. Cartman returns home, arriving at the sled race just as they are about to begin, and helps the boys beat the girls.
"I don't fit in anywhere."
Tolkien had another major role in "Here Comes the Neighborhood". Tolkien is being teased by his friends for being rich. For example, he was teased by the kids of South Park for having a DVD player, and not knowing what a VHS was, or for having clothes from Armani Exchange. Tolkien, sick of constantly being teased, decides to try and blend in, going to buy clothes at the local J-Mart. However, the people at the store gave him and his parents strange looks, upsetting Tolkien.
After failing to blend in with the rest of the town's kids, Tolkien sings a song asking God to send more rich people to his town. Soon enough, other rich people, including Will Smith, Oprah Winfrey, Snoop Dogg, and their families arrive in South Park. Tolkien tries to play with them, suggesting a snowball fight. Instead, the rich kids make fun of him and go off to play polo. Tolkien, downtrodden, says to himself, "I don't fit in anywhere."
Tolkien then goes to the zoo and asks Aslan the Lion if he could try to fit in with the lions, who inexplicably happen to be really into practical jokes and physical comedy. However, after he fails to understand the lions' humor, he realizes that he still does not fit in with them. However, in the end, his friends told Tolkien they were just ripping on him, which is just what kids do to each other, and that he had always been part of the group from the beginning.
In "Christian Rock Hard", Tolkien joins Cartman's new Christian rock band, Faith + 1. Cartman asserted that Tolkien being black automatically meant that he would own and be capable of playing the bass guitar. Although initially skeptical and annoyed with Cartman's racial profiling, Tolkien finds that he is, in fact, fully capable of playing the bass to a high degree of proficiency.
After selling one million albums, Cartman is informed that he cannot achieve platinum certification in a Christian rock band, because Christian rock bands are awarded gold, frankincense, and myrrh as opposed to gold, platinum, and diamond. Enraged, Cartman yells, "Fuck Jesus!", angering both the Christian crowd gathered at the ceremony and Tolkien, who beats Cartman up.
In "Raisins", Tolkien became Wendy's boyfriend, causing Stan to fall into a deep depression. However, Stan comes to terms with his loss, flipping off both Tolkien and Wendy at the end of the episode. As Wendy and Tolkien are not seen together on any subsequent occasions, it can be assumed this relationship ended at some point following the episode.
In "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson", Tolkien is super pissed off at Stan's dad, Randy, for saying the N-word on Wheel of Fortune. Stan exacerbates the situation by claiming that he understood fully how the word was hurtful to black people, a claim Tolkien would never accept. However, Stan realized that as a white person, he will never understand how black people feel. Pleased, Tolkien responds "Now you get it, Stan", appearing to make amends.
Tolkien could not stop himself from laughing at Tyler Perry.
In "Funnybot", Tolkien was unable to contain his laughter at Tyler Perry's jokes. Throughout the episode, Tyler Perry, as his character Madea, would continually make jokes that only Tolkien found funny. Each time this happened, Tolkien appeared disappointed and embarrassed at himself, but still handed the money over to Perry.
Tolkien reluctantly helped Cartman in "1%", who needed a place to stay safe from whoever was killing his stuffed toys. The climactic events of the episode unfolded at Tolkien's house.
Racism has sometimes been a theme based around Tolkien, such as in "Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000" and "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson". Since the demise of Chef, Tolkien and his parents were the only regular African-American characters on the show until "Cartman Finds Love". However, it is implied that Tolkien and his family are more wealthy than much of the town's white residents, with Tolkien even living more luxurious than the other white kids who play baseball with "pinecones and sticks," in "Here Comes the Neighborhood".
Cartman is the most obvious source of provocation towards Tolkien. When Cartman decides to make a Christian rock group, he immediately went to Tolkien and demanded that Tolkien get the bass guitar out of his basement. Tolkien, offended, responded that he did not own a bass and did not know how to play it anyways. Cartman shoots back that because he is black, he, of course, owns one and knows how to play it. Much to Tolkien's annoyance, Cartman was right on both counts.
Another incident of Cartman's somewhat racist behavior occurred in "Quest for Ratings". As the boys were making a news show, Sexy Action School News, Cartman tells Tolkien to change his voice for presenting because it sounded too black or "ethnic". Tolkien does so and puts on an overly pompous white stereotype voice. In "Wing", when Cartman and the gang try to become Tolkien's agents to get 10% of prize money from a talent show he was entering, Cartman stated, "Now you're probably wondering 'Hell, why do I need to give you guys ten percent?!'" in a stereotypically affected voice.
In "Imaginationland", his codename is "Blackie". Occasionally, however, there are times where Cartman does something perceived as racist without the intent behind it, such as when he threw a rock at Tolkien because Tolkien called him fat in "Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000".
In "Free Willzyx", while the other boys have their faces camouflaged black, his is camouflaged white. In "Follow That Egg!", while working with Lola on the egg science project, he was given a brown egg while all the other couples got white eggs; and he understood what this meant and shot Mrs. Garrison an annoyed expression.
Stan and Tolkien confront each other over what Stan's dad said.
In "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson", Tolkien was deeply offended by Stan's dad saying the n word as an answer on Wheel of Fortune. He eventually forgave Stan when the latter realized that he could never understand how it feels to hear the word from an African-American's viewpoint.
In "Funnybot", Tyler Perry makes a guest appearance as Madea for Jimmy's comedy awards, and Tolkien is the only character shown laughing at his jokes. This suggests a stereotype that African Americans are the only group that finds Madea entertaining.
In "1%", Cartman stays at Tolkien's house to hide from whoever is killing his dolls, convinced that since Tolkien is black, no one would dare attack him there because it would supposedly be a sign of racism.
In "Cartman Finds Love", Cartman attempts to force a romantic relationship between Tolkien and Nichole Daniels, believing "black people should be together." Although his intentions were insincere, the two do become a couple and were quite happy with each other.
Talents
Music
Tolkien with his bass guitar.
Despite never having previously touched the instrument, Tolkien is shown to be highly skilled with the bass guitar, as seen in "Christian Rock Hard". However, he is annoyed by this talent, as Cartman tells him it is hereditary due to his ethnicity.
He also has an excellent singing voice, as seen in "Wing". He sang the Lou Rawls song "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" for the Ms. Colorado Beauty Pageant and won $200. Cartman also attributes his vocal skills to his ethnicity. However, he eventually lost his money when he hired an exploitative agent, and wound up serving drinks at Sylvester Stallone's son's wedding.
He also sang a ballad, "Why Can't I Be Like All the Other Kids?", in "Here Comes the Neighborhood", but did not sound nearly as impressive as he does in "Wing". This is because his performance in "Wing" was a sped-up version of the original Lou Rawls track, while his performance in "Here Comes the Neighborhood" was performed by his standard voice actor, Adrien Beard.
Fighting
Near the end of the episode "Christian Rock Hard", Tolkien rather easily beat up Cartman with two punches and a kick. This indicates that he is a decent fighter. In "Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society", Tolkien was seen fighting the other boys with some proficiency. He is also seen wielding nun-chucks in "Good Times with Weapons".
Tolkien also has a vigilante alter-ego, under the alias Tupperware. Although he is never actually seen fighting as Tupperware, he and the rest of Coon and Friends try to intervene when cultists corner Mysterion.
Filing a false police report: In "The Wacky Molestation Adventure", he files a false police report against his parents and other adults, claiming they abused him.
Damage to Property or Vandalism: In "Skank Hunt", he, along with some of his classmates, destroy Cartman's electronics when they think that he is Skankhunt42.
Assault: In "Christian Rock Hard", he assaults Cartman for making a racist remark and losing the crowd he, Butters, and Eric gained after they sold one million copies by saying "fuck Jesus".
Future
In the future timeline set in South Park: Post Covid, he becomes a police officer, assisting his friends in investigating the cause of Kenny's death. It is shown in South Park: Post Covid: The Return of Covid that he has been trained in martial arts, defeating two workers from Shady Acres who were trying to retrieve Randy back into the retirement home.
Appearance
Tolkien wears a light purple Armani Exchange shirt with a yellow letter "T" and a pair of dark blue jeans. He is African American and has dark brown skin, and has short, black hair.
In the future timeline set in South Park: Post Covid, he is seen as a grown adult working as a cop. He had his hair grown with a full beard. He wears a dark gray coat over a purple collared shirt, navy blue pants, and black shoes.
Tolkien is usually level-headed, calm, and rational. He has also been shown to be highly intelligent, besides Kyle. However, this has caused Cartman to label him "a smartass."
He has a strong willingness to stand up for himself and his rights; in "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson", he was incredibly upset by Stan's dad Randy saying the N-word on Wheel of Fortune, and did not forgive Stan until the latter admitted that he would never be able to understand the connotations of the word.
He was also annoyed by Cartman's constant racial stereotyping in "Christian Rock Hard", but managed to contain his frustrations and continued to work with him. However, he eventually lost his temper with Cartman, physically assaulting him for saying "Fuck Jesus!" in front of a huge crowd of Christian fans.
In "Here Comes the Neighborhood" he took the other kids' teasing personally, causing him to feel like an outcast and not part of the group, possibly indicating that he is sensitive to social criticism.
In "Free Willzyx", he helped Kyle and the other boys save a whale, revealing a compassionate attitude.
Family
Tolkien and his parents.
Originally known as Token Williams, he is the only minority (aside from Kevin, a Chinese-American) in the main characters' class, and with the loss of Chef, he and his family are the only recurring African American characters in South Park.
His name comes from the phrase "token minority", typically used to describe non-Caucasian persons thrown into small roles in TV shows and movies for the sole purpose of character diversity. In an intentional reversal of racial stereotypes, Tolkien and his parents are said to be the wealthiest family in South Park; his father Steve is a lawyer and his mother Linda is a chemist.
Tolkien has been shown to possess a strong dislike of Cartman on numerous occasions. This is probably because Cartman does things that may be perceived as racist, though Cartman has refrained from using extreme racial slurs. In "Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000" Cartman throws a rock at Tolkien because Tolkien called him fat. In "Here Comes the Neighborhood" Cartman was together with some other guys insulting Tolkien for being rich.
On the other hand, Tolkien did agree to help Cartman with his Christian rock band, Faith + 1, in "Christian Rock Hard", but only because he was promised money. Cartman believed that because Tolkien is black, he should both own and be able to play bass guitar instinctively. He was right, and Tolkien was even able to play it despite never picking up the instrument before, much to his frustration.
In the same episode, Tolkien stated that he was "getting sick of [Cartman's] stereotypes!" but continued to play for Cartman. After Tolkien called Cartman "tubby", Cartman privately promised himself that he would kill Tolkien. At the end of the episode, after Cartman said "Fuck Jesus!" in front of thousands of people, and called him a "black asshole", Tolkien eventually became enraged, brutally beat him up, and walked away.
In "1%", Cartman comes to Tolkien's house for protection, although Tolkien did not seem very happy about this, especially after learning that it is only because Cartman thinks he will be safe in a house owned by black people.
In “Skank Hunt”, he joins Kyle, Stan, Butters, Clyde, Craig, and Jimmy to smash Cartman’s electronics when he was blamed for being the internet called Skankhunt42.
Generally, Stan and Tolkien appear to be on relatively good terms, often sitting and talking with each other at the lunch table.
However, in "Raisins", they experienced some friction after Tolkien started going out with Stan's ex-girlfriend, Wendy. Stan flipped them both off at the end of the episode.
In "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson", Tolkien was incredibly upset that Randy Marsh had said the n word on national television; the situation was worsened when Stan claimed to understand how black people feel when they hear the word n word. However, their feud is resolved by the end of the episode when Stan understands that he could not possibly know how it feels.
Bebe Stevens
Bebe called Tolkien a "midnight blue" in "Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset" and invited him to her party. However, it should be noted that at this point Bebe was acting like a total whore and invited almost every boy to her party.
In "Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society", Tolkien and Clyde started liking her and thinking she was cool, smart, and awesome. However, Tolkien and all the boys were fighting for Bebe at this point, and all the boys thought she was cool and super awesome because of her breasts.
Butters Stotch
Tolkien and Butters collaborated on the Faith + 1 band in "Christian Rock Hard". They also talk sometimes and sit together during lunchtime.
In "Raisins", he began going out with Wendy Testaburger, leading her to break up with Stan Marsh. However, it seems probable that their relationship was not as long-lived as Wendy's relationship with Stan, as they have not been shown together again. They were seen together afterward riding on a Ferris wheel in "The Jeffersons". He was also shown with other girls at the party in "Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset".
In "Cartman Finds Love", when the girls are hanging out at Bebe's sleepover, Nichole mentions that Tolkien has a crush on her. Wendy comments that he is really nice and as such she dated him for a while, referencing their relationship in "Raisins".
Lola
Tolkien and Lola were paired in the "Follow That Egg!" episode and were given a brown egg by Mrs. Garrison; a slightly racist jab at Tolkien.
Red
Tolkien and Red attended the Bay of Pigs memorial dance together in "Hooked on Monkey Fonics". Red gave Rebecca Cotswolds a dirty look when she hit on Tolkien, but Tolkien did not seem to mind.
Nichole Daniels
In "Cartman Finds Love", after being trapped in the boys' locker room together by Cartman, Tolkien and Nichole start to build a strong relationship, as a couple. To strengthen their relationship, Cartman planted a teddy bear on both Tolkien and Nichole's doorway. Assuming the teddy bear was by Tolkien, Nichole got upset when she saw "Cuz blacks belong together" written on its collar, which caused her to end her relationship with Tolkien. When she learned from Kyle that it was Cartman who gave the teddy bear, she apologized to Tolkien, who revealed that he was even avoiding her in the first place because she was black. As a result, the two reconcile their differences and got back together again. As of "The Hobbit", it is mentioned that they still are together.
However, the two broke up toward the end of "Skank Hunt"; Nichole gave Tolkien the note while he was playing basketball.
In "Dead Kids" Nichole tells Cartman that they are trying to make their relationship work again.
Social Standing in General
In "Here Comes the Neighborhood", Tolkien becomes tired of being an outcast due to his wealth, and successfully gets more rich people to move to South Park, all of whom are famous African Americans. At the end of the episode, the other boys tell him they tease each other for any faults they have all the time, and therefore they accepted him into their group. They then decide that from then on, they would tease him for being a pussy rather than tease him for being rich. Tolkien responds that he liked getting teased for being rich better.
Quotes
Tolkien: "I don't wanna be rich anymore! I wanna eat macaroni and cheese for dinner and, and wear clothes from J mart!" from "Here Comes the Neighborhood"
Tolkien is also a very smart character that, aside from Stan Marsh and Kyle Broflovski, is least affected by Cartman's attempts at manipulation, much to the annoyance of Cartman.
Tolkien as a blacksmith.
Tolkien's name was mentioned by writer Brian C. Anderson as an example of South Park being, in the words of Andrew Sullivan, "The best antidote to PC [politically-correct] culture we have."
In the early seasons, a white version of Tolkien was occasionally seen, usually in background shots. In the Season One commentary, Trey and Matt say it is probably due to the animators being lazy (reusing Tolkien's model and then recoloring his face).
In "The Succubus", a picture in the background of Herbert Garrison's class depicts a picture of a white Tolkien with Tolkien's name on it.
According to this picture, Tolkien likes rocks, hamburgers, Mr. Hat, spiders and fishing.
Tolkien has spoken in every season since his first speaking role in Season Two.
As of Season Nineteen, Tolkien is 1 of the 4 minorities in South Park Elementary.
Promotions for South Park: The Stick of Truth featured Tolkien as a blacksmith. This is referenced in the game, as Cartman tells Tolkien that he should be a blacksmith.
"Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000" - Tolkien is hit by a rock Cartman threw at him, resulting in the latter going to prison. He later helps the boys get Cartman out of jail by repealing a hate-crime sentence.
"Chef Goes Nanners" - Tolkien and his family stand with Chef as he protests the racism depicted on the South Park flag.
"Here Comes the Neighborhood" - Tolkien, tired of being teased on account of his wealth, invites several rich, black, celebrity families to move to South Park.
"Professor Chaos" - Tolkien passes the "bus stop test" and the "talent test". He appears to be the best candidate, but the boys say he is too much of a smartass and kick him out.
"Christian Rock Hard" - Tolkien is chosen along with Butters to form a Christian rock band, Faith + 1 with Cartman. Also, he beats up Cartman because he made them lose a big crowd.
"With Apologies to Jesse Jackson" - Tolkien is initially upset after Randy Marsh says the "N" word on live television, but is even more upset when Stan does not understand why that was so bad.
"Lice Capades" - He is shown with the guys giving Kenny a sock bath.
"1%" - Cartman stays at his house, thinking that he will be safe from any assaults because Tolkien is black. Tolkien witnesses Cartman 'growing up' along with Stan, Kyle, and Kenny.
"Obama Wins!" - Seen playing basketball with the other boys and joins Stan and Kyle in their effort to out Cartman, for rigging the 2012 presidential election.
"World War Zimmerman" - Tolkien is harassed by Cartman, who believes he is racially violent following George Zimmerman's acquittal, framed as "Patient Zero" by Cartman, and eventually shot by Cartman, although he survives.
"Black Friday" - Tolkien is a member of the group that wants to get Xbox Ones on Black Friday.
"A Song of Ass and Fire" - Tolkien is a member of the group that wants to get Xbox Ones on Black Friday.
"Titties and Dragons" - Tolkien is a member of the group that wants to get Xbox Ones on Black Friday, but was apathetic when getting the Xbox One after watching Bill Gates kill the Sony President in the Red Robin.
"Gluten Free Ebola" - Tolkien and the rest of the 4th-grade class ostracize the boys after they left school, told everyone to "go fuck" themselves, and started a start-up company, which eventually failed, forcing them to go back to school.
"The End of Serialization as We Know It" - Seen in the video call with Kyle and tells him the worst thing to say on a "United Negro College Fund" website to anger its users.
"Doubling Down" - Cartman comes to his house in shambles after Heidi breaks up with him. He pleads for Tolkien to let him stay over, racistly claiming to now understand his 'black rage' and asks Tolkien's parents if he can flip over cars and disrespect the American flag with them.
"Dead Kids" - Investigated by Cartman for making him fail the maths test.
"Credigree Weed St. Patrick's Day Special" - Appears at the school lobby, witnessing Butters getting arrested for sexual harassment, and later with the boys at the cafeteria. He is seen wearing a green shirt for St. Patrick's Day.
South Park: Post Covid - Appears as a police officer. Assists in investigating the cause of Kenny's death.
South Park: Post Covid: The Return of Covid - Seen helping Randy get to Stan and Kyle in their attempt to travel back to the past. He, along with his other friends, were then manipulated by Victor Chaos (Butters) into investing in non-fungible tokens.
Tolkien plays no role in the storyline of South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play! and is one of the 'additional characters' unlocked at the game's completion. He is the same class as Eric Cartman, Wendy Testaburger and Red. His unique special ability is playing blues music, causing damage to all enemies within a small radius of Tolkien.
"Gate Crasher" is part of a main quest where Cartman asks the player to find Tolkien. He can be found in his home within the gated community. After Douchebag purchases a gas mask from Jimbo's Guns, he is immune to the security guard's pepper spray and thus forces a battle with him. Once Douchebag defeats the security guard, he can get to Tolkien's house, where Tolkien adds him on Facebook and gets his equipment to continue roleplaying with the other boys. Tolkien is later seen healing his allies in Jimmy's house and South Park Elementary.
