Lamont Goes African

^ Because Rollo was probably trying to impress the woman. So rather than contradict her observation, he simply played along with it.

Despite how rude and disrespectful Fred was of Rollo he was always respectful toward Fred.

Even Julio on occasion called Lamont out because of that.

That's definitely a bold episode, and I think the reason why Rollo actually took Fred's side is because he actually respected him. Even though Fred took shots at him too. And I wouldn't say that Fred and Bubba didn't care about their heritage per se, but like the lady explained to Lamont later on "you have far to go on this journey" meaning that it's a commitment to cherish your culture and how "the heart has to change". Lamont was definitely going about things the wrong way, and that's how Fred later sees that there is more to the African culture than he originally thought because he was used to Western standards. Although hilariously, he still cooks the sausages and says "You don't have to be a fanatic!" Which you can argue Lamont was the fanatic in that episode. At least until that lady called him out for how he was treating Fred.

Most older black men, especially then, didn't care at all about their African "roots". This episode, and the one about Fred's family crest, came about the time Alex Haley's "Roots" came out. It generated some interest among some young blacks but most older blacks were not seriously pursuing their famiky tree. For one, it was time consuming and another it could be expensive. Todsy you can use one of numerous research websites, but even they can be rather costly. Fred was more interested in his family back in St. Louis than any African ancestors.