“You guys have a Black President, what more do you want?” From Abe to Barack, racism continues and nothing has “Changed”

(IBNN.org)...Too many mainstream radio, television and print media outlets in the Twin Cities, actively deny residents the opportunity to see, hear and read news about the local minority-ethnic population.

News and information racism – a form of structural, systemic racism, manifests itself in the form of a virtual blackout in terms of reporting on events that take place day-to-day in the local population of color.  In other words, “White News,” appears be the only “Right News.”

On Friday, August 21, 2009 a press conference was held in north Minneapolis to discuss an upcoming engagement with local activists overseeing the remodeling of foreclosed homes.  The problem? Minnesota’s “trusted news source” never showed up. Nothing new!

When Blacks or other people of color call press conferences, the local media does not seem to feel moved or obligated to cover events of this nature.

This week in the Twin Cities, no minority-ethnic news item could possibly top Brett Favre becoming a Minnesota Viking.  While newsrooms hurried to get crews to the Viking training camp, the minority-ethnic population of the Twin Cities became the shadow of concern, again – no news is good news?

On Friday August 21, 2009, the Barnes and Noble stores at the Mall of America and at the Galleria decided that a published black author, who was a star athlete at the University of Minnesota, and is today a highly-regarded motivational speaker, was not an appropriate candidate for a book signing at their stores because of their customer base.

When IBNN called the Mall of America branch of the company,  customer relations manager Mike Sedki told us, “The author you speak of is not a good fit for the MOA. Our guests are from all over the world – they wouldn’t be interested in the author or his book. We want authors like Marie Osmond and Buzz Aldridge at this store.”

If you want to clean the bathrooms, there’s always a place for minorities at the Mall of America.

Despite the election of a black man as president, news distribution outlets continue to overlook, bypass, and hoodwink the minority-ethnic community,  by failing to consider their news to be “news that’s fit to print.”

It’s like, “You guys got a Black President, what more do you want?”

In 2009, Black males are still most often portrayed as a menace to society.  Black females appear routinely as hoes or sex objects, and the mainstream media has done little to show the American public that those stereotypes are incorrect.

Soledad O’Brian’s highly touted “Black in America” CNN mini-series is a patronizing, simplistic portrait of the American-American community, that appeals to the voyeuristic curiosity of the liberal White audience, but has no real substance or meaning. The show should be called “Black in America (Made for Whites).”

As an article from Science Daily (July 17, 2008) reports,  “Watching the news should make you more informed, but it also may be making you more likely to stereotype. . . . In a pair of recently published studies, [one] professor found that the more people watched local or network news, the more likely they were to draw on negative stereotypes about blacks.” (*University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2008, July 17). Negative Perception of Blacks Rises with more News Watching, Studies Say.)

Of course, if a Black man shoots himself in a night club and gets two years in jail –that’s news.

If a Black man commits a heinous crime, it’s on at 5, 6 and 10.

Other than the above examples, Blacks in the media are almost non-existent.

As another article from The Ohio State Research News  titled, “African Americans Still Nearly Invisible in Media,” states, “While African Americans have made inroads into some parts of American society, they are still nearly invisible in many parts of the news media and the entertainment industry. . . . Rudolph Alexander, Jr., professor of social work, argues in a newly revised book that the media often ignores African Americans in stories of both heroes and victims, even when they are an integral part of the narrative. (From the book, “Racism, African Americans, and Social Justice, (Rowman and Littlefield, 2nd edition, 2005)

Black leaders in the Twin Cities and the broader US must address this ongoing disparity in coverage of a population that in 2025 is estimated to be the “majority” in the United States. (NY Times, “In a Generation, Minorities May Be the U.S. Majority,” by Sam Roberts, published on August 13, 2008)

“Will the roles be reversed?

Will White America protest against the minority mainstream media for overlooking them?

For now, the mainstream media must be held accountable for the slice of “white cake” that they call news. Furthermore, mainstream media must broadcast and report on issues in the minority-ethnic community with “unconditional coverage.”

Now that’s love!

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