Systemic Racism: A Persistent Issue in Modern Media

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Racism is often believed to be a thing of the past. There are many that believe that only those who go looking for it will find it. Even in the United States debates rage on as to whether or not racism even exist within our society. The truth however is that racism does still exist, it is alive and well, it is rampant and it is systemic. Not only is racism still alive, it is continually being taught to us by our media today. Racism is taught through the onslaught of negative media weather it is television, radio, or printed media outlets. This is often done by using these outlets to portray a person or group in a certain light. Malcolm X once said, “The Media is the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty …show more content…

An example of this would be during the Michael Brown case. After the eighteen-year old unarmed man was gunned down in the streets of Ferguson Missouri. The media portrayed Michael Brown as a gangster and used his large stature, urban dress, and the fact that his pants sagged to paint him as a violent criminal threat to society. While the information that later surfaced about the altercation that ensued between Brown and the officer involved showed actions committed by both parties that lead up to the deadly encounter; The media mostly focused on the actions of Brown as the perpetrator. The image painted by the media negatively reinforced the big, scary black-man misconception that we often see today. Moral panic is then created when the public opinion is shaped by the media when they only introduce certain pieces of information and distort the …show more content…

They are usually given roles as both terrorist bomb makers and conspirators to some global threat or some shady wealthy oil tycoon who doesn’t treat women very well. When it comes to the Media treatment of casting minorities the same can be said of other cultures. African-Americans are often cast as belligerent angry youths, drug dealers, gangsters and purse snatchers. Many of the shows seen today are twice as likely to have a black or minority perpetrator. This is incredibly tragic because research shows that most serious crimes in inner cities are committed by a very small number of African-American youths. While white Americans are just as likely to cast for some of these negative roles as well, many often receive leading roles as the hero or smart business men. Even when Caucasian roles require a bad boy type role they are often cast in a light that does not necessarily demonize them or paint a negative image within society. The truth remains that mass media has played and will continue to play a role in the way people see society. Whites and minorities alike will continue to revisit the kindling flames of racism because of the oppression through media, education and social economic inequality. It is important that Americans seek the facts about other cultures and not rely on the media to shape the way people see each

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