Black men are Still Being Misrepresented in the Media
By Andrea Kelley
I’m not sure how heavily dissected you are into researching but many internet searching sites have one thing in common. When you type the words “Black Men” in your search engines, you will quickly find a news or magazine article regarding an African American male that has been shot, incarcerated, or associated with a Caucasian woman. I’m not sure how upset this makes you while reading this, but as an individual in the media industry who is responsible for reporting news, I think this is something that needs to be addressed.
Many news articles that headline black men contain topics of violence, drugs, and death. There are few opportunities that you will find where media publications portray black men in a positive light. The most positivity you will see is if a black man happens to be an actor, rapper, or movie star. I blame journalists and media publications for this type of portrayal. As journalists, we have the influence and responsibility to tell the whole story, not just half of it. Unfortunately, many people in this industry do not take the time to research or review positive news stories regarding black men because there is a hidden agenda to mask the unbelieved reality of this genre of men. Not all black men have been incarcerated, shot, or violated by police. That’s just what the media publications want you to believe. It is the twisting of the idealization of a black man’s identity that is shameful within itself.
Mural of George Floyd. He was killed by police officers in Minneapolis, MN. This sparked worldwide protests against police brutality. After his death, media outlets started sharing his past criminal record, portraying Floyd in a negative light across news stations. Photo Credit: Mana.
If you go to your search engine and type in “white men” most articles portray this group of men to be superior and display their accomplishments and business endeavors. Don’t get me wrong. Some media publications portray white men in a negative light as well but almost always, black men have a harsher reputation.
According to The Opportunity Agenda, this publication agrees with the exact stance we are taking with negative media portrayals of black men. The article writes:
For various reasons, media of all types collectively offer a distorted representation of the lives and reality of black males.
In turn, media consumption negatively affects the public’s understandings and attitudes related to black males (sometimes including the understandings and attitudes of black males themselves)
Finally, these distorted understandings and attitudes towards black males lead to negative real-world consequences for them.
Without the proper representation of black men in the media industry, we will constantly lead people astray with ongoing misinformation. The representation of black men should be more rationalized and displayed in everyday publications. News stations and channels have done a very poor job in displaying black men’s lives and issues across multimedia. From conversations to news articles, to the very depiction of male roles in movies and television, there has been an influx of negative portrayals and racially motivated messages.
How can we begin to understand that this topic is vital to the media industry? How can we begin to understand why this type of portrayal becomes influential in the wrong ways? By speaking up more about this topic and vowing to take a stand when such articles and news come across your view. As a people, we should monitor the portrayal of all multicultural groups of people to keep a positive influence on our children and the messaging we put out in the world. This can be done with constant research and by making the necessary complaints to media publications. If you see injustices like these, you should be motivated to try to put an end to them by expressing human concern for individuals who have to live in this world.
