slavery trade

slavery trade

In each community, there exist certain stereotypes that are passed from one party to another. Usually, these stereotypes are harmful, and while they might not be real, they have adverse effects on the victims. Ever since slavery, the black community has been on the receiving end of violence, discrimination, and hatred. These attitudes have had an impact on African Americans in the sense that people have a different perception about them that affects their progress and development in society. One of the major avenues that influence the opinion of people in the media. Be it radio, television, the internet all through to billboards, the portrayal of African Americans in the media has affected them in different spheres of their lives. This essay draws attention to the negative representation of African Americans in the media and how it has affected them.

According to Punyanunt-Carter (2008), the majority of people’s perception of African Americans is greatly influenced by the media so that what they read, see or hear becomes factual in their eyes. Furthermore, the public mostly interacts with other groups of people through the media, and more often than not, they hardly seek alternative avenues of verifying the information they receive. The roles that African Americans are given on the media are stereotypic. In television series and movies, they are often cast as domestic workers, criminals, drug traffickers, prisoners, and athletes. This is a sharp contrast to how their white counterparts are portrayed. The whites are cast in high profile blue-collar and professional occupations (Punyanunt-Carter, 2008).

African Americans are also represented as marginalized minorities regardless of whatever position or achievement they make. Even in situations where they are cast in high-level professional occupations, the notion is that they only hold those positions because of their race as opposed to their qualifications (Lambert, 2017). As such, the public gets to view African Americans as inferior minorities who ascend to positions because of their race or gender. Usually, these positions are arrived at as a result of the exchange of sexual favors. Such a representation negatively affects the community in that their effort is hardly recognized, and they are denied equal opportunities to ascend into positions based on their qualifications and credentials. Furthermore, the media plays a significant role in objectifying African American women so that pleasure and sex are all they can offer, which is a false representation.

The media has also associated African Americans with poverty and deviant behavior. Television has paid attention to the African American residents as sources of deviant behavior living in abject poverty. This portrayal has affected their interaction in the community where they are viewed as second class citizens who are concerned with begging and stealing as ways of earning a living. Moreover, the media also concentrates on instances of violence that involve African Americans so that even law enforcement officers openly discriminate against them (Lauritsen and Min, 2012). The open discrimination has resulted in mistrust of law enforcement, where African Americans are hesitant to seek help from the police.

While the media has negatively portrayed African Americans, it has also highlighted their positive traits. According to Punyanunt-Carter (2008), they have been described as hardworking and humane members of the community who have a heart given to caring and helping. It has worked to change certain prejudices against them, and as such, sectors of the community are more hospitable to African Americans. Additionally, television is casting them in roles that were previously set for the whites, and these changes are also being reflected in the community.

The media has played a role in empowering African Americans as individuals of social change. According to Laat (2019), popular culture through the media has portrayed the African American woman as a pillar in her community and worked to erase objectification and stereotypes of being evil, daft, and materialistic. She is seen as a woman who is full of love and does not shy away from expressing it to other members of society. Through their expressions on love, the African American woman is slowly bringing members of her community together, and this has helped to solidify their importance in society at large.

Finally, the media plays a compelling role in the transfer of information from one place to another. It is also used as an avenue for mass mobilization, and as such, it is essential in forming public opinion on specific issues in the community. The stereotypes created regarding African Americans affect their progress in the community. The negative roles that are used on them are hardly a representation of the truth. As such, administrators also need to verify the content posted and shared in their channels. The use of verification protocols and structures sieves out the unwanted from the wanted. Those found to violate these guidelines need to pay stiff penalties or have their

sites blacklisted or shut down altogether. The media is an excellent source of information, and it should be used to spread the correct messages.