Franklin 1

Jonathan Franklin
December 9, 2015
English 380
Dr. Hall
Redefining the Black Image in Media
No matter what my mother would tell me as a child, the one piece of advice that
always stuck with me was to Be mindful of what you do, people are always watching
you. You are constantly building your image whether you think so or not. As much I
didnt want to listen to her when she told me this, I never took this little piece of wisdom
into consideration. I half-listened to this advice because I just knew that I was the token
child and would never do any wrong. Little did I know that what she meant by her advice
was in regards to how other races perceive the Black race collectively. I did not recognize
or take into consideration this until my sophomore year of college in my interim class
entitled Whats Race Got to Do With It? when race in conjunction with mass medias
influence was brought up in conversation amongst class discussion.
I mean a majority of the Black people here are on some sort of athletic
scholarship. Just look at the basketball team, the football team, and the track team. They
make up a majority of our sports. Immediately, my response given towards his comment
may have come off very direct, but addressed the question that all of us in the class were
thinking. But why do you think all Black students here at Wofford are on some athletic
team? But they all are. They have to be good for something, right? As I listened to
these shocking remarks from a few of my classmates, the harsh words of slander and
hatred only justified the fact that the media is and always will have an influence
whether positive or negative on how our general society views the Black race.

Franklin 2
Fast-forward to my senior year of college, I, along with almost every student of
color on the campus of Wofford College, are constantly facing battles of racism,
discrimination, and prejudice brought on by those in our campus community that
potentially could have emerged from the array of influences brought on by digital/mass
media. Simply by turning on your television and watching the local news or even reality
television, you can see how exactly the Black race is unceasingly being portrayed in a
negative light due to the implicitly of media bias and media injustice shown in television
programming.
In Kirsten Savalis article published in The Root entitled Throw Away the Script:
How Media Bias is Killing Black America it is explained how exactly the media
showcases a particular bias and how exactly it effects a particular racial community. The
media is no different, whether it be the use of pejorative terms like thug and animal to
describe protesters in Ferguson and Baltimore, or the widespread over reporting of crime
stories involving black suspects in New York City (The Root). Given the recent events
happening in our country, Black Americans are not seen as an equivalent or in a positive
light in comparison to the majority due to the implicit media bias. Media bias overall is
not only effecting how our society views Black Americans in terms of the cases of police
brutality, its past with law enforcement and the judicial system, but mainly how Black
Americans are perceived and viewed in society at large; which brings us to the origin of
my final project.
For my final project in terms of the digital component, I chose to investigate and
explore a topic that I consider myself to be very passionate about. Being such an advocate
for all things social justice, it was extremely difficult to try and select a single topic while

Franklin 3
narrowing it down to a specific focus concerning what I would like to showcase as the
final project for the course. After much consideration, I decided to generate my focus for
project on how Black/African-Americans are portrayed in the media and how this has
played a role in terms of social justice in the United States otherwise known as the
Black Digital Intelligentsia Movement. Additionally, I chose to examine closely how the
campus culture of Wofford is structured by this media bias in a cultivating photo
campaign entitled Its Not My World, Wofford. Its Not My World, Wofford is a photo
campaign inspired by similar campaigns showcased at various predominately White
institutions across the country. Highlighting the experiences of students of color enrolled
at Wofford, the campaigns intent is to grab the attention of the campus community
regarding issues that Black students often face on a daily basis. The photographs featured
throughout my digital media component are influential and should hopefully guide those
who are fervent about diversity and inclusion to advocate for the appropriate change
Wofford needs.
On the campus of Wofford where diversity is rarely introduced in classroom
discussion, students of color primarily Black students are constantly faced with
microaggressions brought on by their peers, professors, and other benefactors within our
campus community; all brought on by influences introduced by the media. But in
actuality, the way we view certain racial groups affects our society whether it may be
good or bad. Thinking back on the current events happening in our nation today, it has
been the common misconception that the way we view a certain racial or ethnicity group
is all based on what we see in our media. As funny as that may sound, in actuality it is
true.

Franklin 4
For instance, let us examine the image of Black women within both mass media
and in society. When surveying an array of people from various racial backgrounds about
what their first impression of Black women, many stated that Black women are either
ratchet, ghetto, or strong, independent, women who dont need no man. When
asked what made them think of these adjectives or phrases, a majority of the responses
were because of the way Black women are showcased in the media, mainly television.
In the article Thats Not Me I See on TV: African American Youth Interpret
Media Images of Black Females written by authors Valerie Adams-Bass, Keisha
Bentley-Edwards, and Howard Stevenson for the journal Women, Gender, and Families
of Color, the co-authors draw attention around how Black youth perceive images of
Black women in the media and with the interpretation these messages, how they come
into play when it comes into the both the negative and positive stereotypes within the
Black culture; stating that typically, multiple women are shown in provocative poses and
revealing clothing and vying for the attention of the male artist or artists and their
entourage (Women, Gender, and Families of Color 81) a contribution towards the
study of media socialization1. With the research presenting that Black youth, both male
and female, readily identified the images of black women as negative, inaccurate, and
offensive in our media, it opens up the topic on how, we as viewers, can fight to change
this epidemic of negative stereotyping for persons of color, in this case for Black women.
The negative portrayal just does not affect one particular gender within the Black
race, but also for males. Dennis Rome in his book Black Demons: The Media's Depiction
1

Media socialization is described as a critical factor that impacts how youth come to
acquire static or stereotypic self- and other representations. The process is defined as the
exposure to mass communication messages such as television, radio, the Internet, and
newspapers; messages that teach people socially accepted behaviors (Women, Gender,
and Families of Color 82).

Franklin 5
Of The African American Male Criminal Stereotype indicates that the stereotype of Black
men has always been an obstacle when it comes to our criminal justice system alongside
the evolution of the Black male image that feeds into the elimination of discrimination
and racism on all levels in the United States (Rome 29). Rome asserts that this image
given to Black male youth is internalized by Black youth themselves, mentioning the fact
that they are made to feel as though this delinquent behavior is what is expected from
them when many young Black men are living up to this stereotype without even noticing.
With television, cinema, music, and other forms of mass media constantly displaying
Americans this stereotype of Black male youth running from the law, committing other
crimes or other acts of violence, it only feeds into the continuous cycle of negative
stereotyping and shaming towards the Black culture.
In popular culture today, movies in addition to television, infomercials, and social
media set the standard for fashion trends, sex appeal, urban vernaculars, and political
bias. Unfortunately, popular culture often times referred to as pop culture can shape
the way we view race, gender, as well as other social issues that are of importance in the
world. Dating back to as early as the 1800s, Black people were portrayed negatively in
advertisements due to the given circumstances America was in because of slavery and
later the civil rights movement that took place. Post-slavery and civil rights movement,
Black people are still fighting for justice and equality despite the efforts previously made.
Michael Elliotts article in the Journal Of Current Issues & Research In Advertising
entitled "Differences In The Portrayal Of Blacks: A Content Analysis Of General Media
Versus Culturally-Targeted Commercials" discusses a study that examines the portrayal
of Black culture and identity in television commercials through a comparative content

Franklin 6
analysis of the general media and a culturally specific medium, using Black
Entertainment Television (BET) as an example of such.
According to Elliots research in the article, Black people who were appearing in
the so-called culturally specific medium were shown in more entertainment-oriented
product commercials and less business product commercials, but were found to be
present in more major roles and were shown in more situations of social and leisure.
When examining Black Entertainment Television (BET) and the original concept behind
it, many would think that its current state has strays away from its original purpose that
could indeed be a factor in the way other races perceive Black America, believing that
the cable channel was intended to be a forum for the African American perspective on
issues and topics, and to make BET the primary source for entertainment and
information for black America (Elliott 76). BET in its current state still has the same
mindset for being the voice for Black America, but while being the voice for Black
America also tarnishes the image for Black America in its programming, music videos,
and featured films shown on the channel; painting the picture of the Black race in a
negative way.
Many of my non-Black peers and associates often times are confused or flustered
at the fact that a majority of people mainly White people outside of the Black race get
their first few impressions of Black people from the media, in addition to also having a
difficult time grasping the fact that the influence of mass media is the potential root cause
of racism and ignorance. The best example I can connect to this statement is the recent
publicity that my digital component received on social media. After finishing the
photographs for the Tumblr page and presenting it in the digital showcase, I took a leap

Franklin 7
of faith and shared my project on social media for my friends, family, and peers to see. A
majority of the responses were positive, coming from alumni, current students, faculty,
and staff stating this is what our campus our campus needs to see and if this makes
you uncomfortable, then his project has done you justice fight for diversity and equality
on campus but likewise, others were not in support of the campaign and were puzzled as
to why something of such importance is causing tension at Wofford making the claim
that racism is something that is not prevalent on campus.
Whether one may agree or disagree, racism is something that is prevalent on
campus and is a matter that needs to be addressed to the campus community. The photo
campaign is setting the stage of the discrimination that is presented towards students of
color on campus. I, along with the students featured in the photos, are not saying that all
non-students of color on campus show these and other microaggressions towards students
of color, but a few or more have done so sparking the influence for this campaign. Mass
media has a way of changing certain personas and mindsets amongst a society. While the
media can damage or alter the Black image, the media has the power to change this
image by shifting its focus to prominent Black Americans or even just taking the attention
off of the negative to emphasize the positive.

Franklin 8
Works Cited
Adams-Bass, Valerie N., Bentley-Edwards, Keisha L., and Stevenson, Howard C.
"Thats Not Me I See on TV . . . : African American Youth Interpret Media Images
of Black Females." Women, Gender, and Families of Color 2.1 (2014): 79-100.
Project MUSE. Web. 25 Oct. 2015. <https://0-muse.jhu.edu.library.wofford.edu/>.
Elliott, Michael T. "Differences In The Portrayal Of Blacks: A Content Analysis Of
General Media Versus Culturally-Targeted Commercials." Journal Of Current
Issues & Research In Advertising (CTC Press) 17.1 (1995): 75. Business Source
Premier. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.
Rome, Dennis. Black Demons: The Media's Depiction Of The African American Male
Criminal Stereotype. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004. eBook
Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 25 Oct. 2015.
Savali, Kirsten West. "Throw Away the Script: How Media Bias Is Killing Black
America." The Root. N.p., 02 June 2015. Web. 07 Dec. 2015.

Franklin 9
Works Contributed
Adams, Valerie N. "Messages in the medium: the relationships among Black media
images, racial identity, body image, and the racial socialization of Black youth."
Journal of Pan African Studies 5.1 (2012): 286+. Academic OneFile. Web. 25 Oct.
2015.
Dyson, Michael Eric. "Think Out Loud." The New Republic. The New Republic, 9 Sept.
2015. Web. 22 Oct. 2015.
Everett, Anna. "Black Film, New Media Industries, and BAMMs (Black American Media
Moguls) in the Digital Media Ecology." Cinema Journal 53.4 (2014): 128-133.
Project MUSE. Web. 25 Oct. 2015. <https://0-muse.jhu.edu.library.wofford.edu/>.
Havens, Timothy. Black Television Travels: African American Media Around The Globe.
New York: NYU Press, 2013. eBook Academic Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 25
Oct. 2015.
Hazell, Vanessa and Clarke, Juanne "Race and Gender in the Media: A Content Analysis
of Advertisements in Two Mainstream Black Magazines." Journal of Black
Studies 39.1 (2008): 5-21. JSTOR.org. Sage Publications, Inc., Sept. 2008. Web.
25 Oct. 2015. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/40282545>.
Richeson, Jennifer A., and Clemlyn-Ann Pollydore. "Affective Reactions of African
American Students to Stereotypical and Counterstereotypical Images of Blacks in
the Media." Journal Of Black Psychology 28.3 (2002): 261-75. Web.
Smith Richardson, Susan. "Making Black Lives Matter." Nieman Reports 69.2 (2015):
26-31. Small Business Reference Center. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.