Final Paper 1

Kala Stokes

May 6th, 2020

Dr. Guffey

How African Americans are viewed in media

According to Merriam Webster Diversity is “The condition of having or being composed of

differing elements: Variety. Especially: the inclusion of different types of people (people of different

races or cultures) in a group or organization” (Webster). Media whether it is news media or

entertainment media plays a huge role in how we see or form our opinions about other people as a person,

race, community, culture, etc. However, the way we gain this information is based on stereotypes and

false narratives limiting the way that person, community, or culture really is. African Americans have

been represented in the media in a very twisted way since the Jim Crow era. However when it comes to

violence, and sports-related news the writers/ broadcasters make sure to specifically mention African

American men more than they mention African American women leaving the men to face harsher

stereotypes within the real world.

Entertainment and News media are strong forces in creating and keeping up negative stereotypes

particularly when they’re talking about racial and ethnic groups. T.V shows portray the character that is

of a nondominant race and or ethnic group following a cliche storyline and or a basic narrative

(Representation: Culture & Perception.). It is rare now that a T.v show with black characters is not faced

with being a black family with a lot of money in a nice neighborhood. T.v that is centered around black

families is not getting good reviews and ratings because some of the black community feel like they are

not focusing on black experiences and things the black community faces on a day to day basis. The other

half, however, feel as if having more T.v shows centered around black families is a huge win for the

black community. In some T.v shows, black males appear to be criminals even when they’re not. They

are placed in a light to where they seem threatening or dangerous to uphold that “criminal” image black

males seem to hold in the media industry.

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Due to the distorted ways the media has portrayed African American men out to be, it prevents

men who do not look a certain way to get good, well-paying jobs in America. When it comes to the media

the reporters tend to exaggerate specific aspects of AA men and exclude other aspects. When it comes to

video games we have seen a rise in black male characters over the years. Most video games you will see

black characters in are mostly sports-related games, other than that you do not see black characters in

popular games unless it's games that have violence in it. “Competent, capable, and successful

members of businesses and families who have attained some degree of material wealth.”

(Tucker, 2007) was a statement made by Tucker about the image the American media has

painted on black men in America. This image excludes the majority of the African American

men in this country because only a few of them fit his description which leaves the vast majority

of AA men out of the picture. (Media Portrayals and black male outcomes)

African Americans as a whole tend to be portrayed in a negative light in both the news

industry and the entertainment industry. In the news industry, African Americans are portrayed

to be poor or lower class than anyone else. They are viewed as a whole to be the only ones on

welfare, the majority are without fathers and are criminals. Black families are stereotyped to be

dysfunctional and reliant on government needs, whereas white families are seen with stable

homes, and in good standing financially. If white families were seen using government funding

and other forms of anti-poverty funding they were labeled “going through hard times” or they “

ran into hard luck” (Tracy, 2017).

Travis L. Dixon who studied how African Americans are portrayed in the media stated

that “This leaves people with the opinion that black people are plagued with self-imposed

dysfunction that creates family instability and therefore all their problems”. Such stereotypes

have created things like strict work requirements, drug testing, as well as welfare limitations that

contribute to the way black families are seen. Nicole Rodgers wrote that the media and political
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leaders “worked to pathologize black families in the American imagination to justify slavery,

Jim Crow, mass incarceration, widespread economic inequality and urban disinvestment to gain

and maintain political and social power.”

There was research conducted that proved that both ideology-driven news sources and

traditional newspapers/ broadcasters also put out false narratives about black families, which

helped mold untrue descriptions about black families which swayed the publics’ assumptions.

59% of poor families portrayed in the media are Black, and they make up 27% of the poor

people of the general population. 17% of poor families that are portrayed in the news media are

white and they make up 66% of the poor across the country. (Mohdin, 2017) Stereotypes of the

black community in the media have made some sort of cloud over our heads no matter how hard

people in the Black community work.

A non-profit civil rights advocacy group Color Of Change and Family Story conducted

research that looked at over 800 local and national US opinion pieces as well as news stories and

found that black families as poor, without a two-parent household, and exaggerated the

connection between blacks and criminal activity. They also found that conservatives loaded up

on attacks against “welfare queens” which is a stereotype against black women making them

seem like they only have children to get government funding. They painted a picture that black

households were capable of cheating the system way more than white families were. It is

portrayed that Black fathers often up and leave their children for the mothers to take care of the

children with no help with no evidence that fathers of any other race do not do it equally or more

than Black fathers.

Studies show that Black families were overrepresented as criminals and white families

were underrepresented in the media. According to crime reports, 26% of family members
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arrested for criminal activities in the media are from Black families making 37% of people in the

Black community behind bars. These same reports found that 28% of White families are arrested

for criminal activities in the media making 77% of people in the white community behind bars

due to criminal activity. (Mohdin, 2017) . When we see stories dealing with African Americans

(male or female) on the news who have been accused of a crime a mugshot is usually associated

with the story whether they’re the victim or the perpetrator. ( Entman & Rojecki, 2000)

Crime typically happens between people of the same racial group but the media over

hypes it and makes it seem like it is more black- on- white crime not black-on-black crime.

These depictions are wrong and inaccurate but they are left unquestioned because they follow the

cultural stereotypes that are placed on the black community. People believe the only way to

transform the perceptions that have been placed on the people of the black community is by

transforming the cultural landscape into one that puts people of color in front of their complex

humanity instead of depending on the overused stereotypes that most people think of when they

see African Americans.

Social media plays a large role in how African Americans are viewed in the media. The

hashtag “BlackLivesMatter” was created after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the murder

of Trayvon Martin in 2012. This hashtag was created to shed some light on the conversation or

lack thereof about racial injustice and police brutality. According to Cecilia Lei, in 2018 the

hashtag was being used on average around 17,000 times a day. This was a form of modern day

activism and protests for the minority communities. Studies show that over half of Americans

have been involved in some sort of “political or social minded” activity on social media. That

includes people looking into information on protests while using hashtags pertaining to the issue
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or encouraging others to join them in taking action. The people who join these said activities

range from the ages of 18 to 49.

Afican Americans are typically known for the stereotypes that have been stated

previously and the roles that they’re not present in like parenting and things of that nature.

They’re also known for things such as sports and other physical requirements. Minorities who

play roles in films or t.v shows are often seen to be “macho” because that's how Americans view

them in the real world. African Americans and other men of color are more known for being very

masculine (especially when it comes to how they’re viewed in the media). People will look at

them and will automatically assume that they’re either an athlete or they’re in some kind of gang,

but they won't think that the person may be a CEO of a business or a very good lawyer or

something of that nature. Men of color are always judged to be either one or the other and no in

between.

According to Tucker it is rare to see a black man in mainstream Ads (printed or

electronic). If you do see a black man in ads they are typically depicted as things like; athletes,

criminals, workers, entertainers, laborers or some kind of mixture of the sort. The media admires

some black men but the men they do admire have limited qualities like entertainment skills or

physical abilities. In order to stop the stereotyping of black men and other men of color, we need

to get more people of color in positions to put an end to them and change the narrative of the way

people see minorities, especially men.

Works Cited

“Media Portrayals and Black Male Outcomes.” The Opportunity Agenda,

www.opportunityagenda.org/explore/resources-publications/media-representations-

impact-black-men/media-portrayals.
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“Representation: Culture & Perception.” Perception Institute,

perception.org/representation/.

Mohdin, Aamna. “A Study Shows That the Media Often Presents a Distorted Image of

Black Families.” Quartz, Quartz, 15 Dec. 2017, qz.com/1158041/study-media-portrayal-

of-black-families-versus-white-families-in-the-us/.

Lei, Cecilia. “Majority Of Black Americans Value Social Media For Amplifying Lesser-

Known Issues.” NPR, NPR, 5 Aug. 2018, www.npr.org/2018/08/05/635127389/majority-

of-black-americans-value-social-media-for-amplifying-lesser-known-issue.

Simon, Caroline. “How Social Media Has Shaped Black Lives Matter, Five Years Later.”

USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 15 July 2018,

www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/07/12/black-lives-matter-movement-and-social-

media-after-five-years/778779002/.

“Diversity.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/diversity.

PORTRAYAL OF MINORITIES IN THE FILM, MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

INDUSTRIES, web.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/mediarace/portrayal.htm.