Category: African American

Racial Profiling: Will It Ever End?

Racial discrimination and inequality continue to be an issue. Despite the advances we make in our society in terms of race, racial prejudice is something that cannot be abolished. Conflict with discrimination is evident when we look at the issue of racial profiling. Racial profiling in the United States has corrupted the justice system, causing various misinterpretations and placing innocent persons in jail.

Racial Profiling is just what it is. Targeting individuals for suspicion of a violation determined by the individual’s race, ethnicity, religion or national origin. Race and location are the supreme characteristics law enforcement visually examine when engaging in this type of profiling. African-American males are the primary victims of racial profiling in the United States. The phrase “driving while black” derive from African Americans protesting that they are pulled over by police officers for no reason other than the color of their skin. But racial profiling isn ‘t only about African-Americans, racial profiling deals with other ethnicity groups likewise. Police departments across the country too often use extortionate force, injuring people suspected of misconduct and sometimes killing them. Stop and frisk is the practice by which a police officer initiates a cessation of an individual on the street allegedly based on plausible suspicion of malefactor activity. Statistically, police have been more liable to perform stop and frisks in neighborhoods that are home to sizably voluminous numbers of African American and Hispanics.

Slavery has a correlation to the prison institution since it dealt with capitalism, physical control, and cruelty. Racial justice affects minorities in contemporary America. Depending on the way it is tackled, slavery is still in place today. The prison institution has become the new slave trade. Blacks are used for manual work. Prison companies have created an interest in private corporations to make money from blacks by doing a diminished job, ‘even producing ads to bring business and land contracts, putting prisons at work as a free alternative to foreigners in other countries ‘(Fredrick, 2012). It is a fact that food that is processed like chicken, beef, and pork within schools ‘ have been Martinez-2 made by a worker earning twenty cents an hour, not in a faraway country, but by a member of an invisible American workforce: prisoners’ (Elk and Sloan, 2011)

In the mid-1800s, there were more African Americans in prison than any other race. Slavery was the belief of the foundation that blacks were unequal than everybody else. Slavery destroyed vast amounts of humans mentally, physically, and spiritually. When slavery ended, it left scads of racism creating different effect on generations. Currently, men have become the spotlight for the prison system. Men are now labeled as a “growing under cast” meaning they have low values. Men are sometimes denied the right to vote, discriminated from having a job, and public benefits”, during the Jim Crow period. (Alexander, 2010).

Although in some instances it may seem as if the racial caste has ended in America, it hasn’t; it was merely been redesigned. During the formation of the United States, African-Americans were denied citizenship and equality. Even though African-Americans were granted freedom after the Civil War, they were never in peace in this country. Since freedom, many different factors have prevented African-Americans from having a voice. Jarvious Cotton, an African-American, and his antecedents have victims of these factors. Like his father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather, Cotton has been denied the right to vote. His great-great-grandfather was denied to vote since he was a slave. His great-grandfather was killed by the Klu Klux Klan for attempting to vote. His grandfather was intimidated by the KKK. His father was barred by poll taxes and literacy rates. Currently, Cotton is unable to vote because he has been labelled as a felon, like many black men in contemporary America. Cotton’s story supports the old adage “The more things change, the more they remain the same” (Alexander 2010). Each generation creates new tactics in order to discriminate Blacks from participating and gaining equality.

Isn’t it ironic that an African-American man cannot afford a job in society, but as soon as a black man enters prison, they are given a huge load of labor work? According to the Center for Economic and Political Research (CEPR), ‘In 2008, over 2.3 million Americans were in prison or in jail, with one of the 48 working-age men behind bars’ (Khalek, 2011). Currently, in America, illegal immigrants and teens are racially profiled and processed under a caste system. Studies claim that detention rates between 1880 and 1970 were expanded to ‘100 to 200 prisoners per 100,000 people’ (Khalek, 2011).

Up until 2001, the public judged racial profiling. President Bill Clinton addressed racial profiling “morally indefensible and deeply corrosive.” (Alschuler, 2002). Blacks and Hispanics are considered poor because of lack of education, unemployed, social environment. However, it is one of the main reasons why Blacks and Hispanics become racially profiled in their communities. Judge Shira Scheindlin, discovered that the New York Police Department altered to a “ policy of indirect racial profiling” (Goldstein,2013). In the inner-cities the amount of stop and frisk are majority Blacks and Hispanics. New York City police have made it a procedure to stop “Blacks and Hispanics who would not have been stopped if they were white” (Goldstein, 2013). New Jersey Governor Christie Todd Whitman fired police superintendent Carl Williams for mentioning, “Blacks are more likely to be involved in trafficking.” (Williams, 2004). The Supreme Court has pointed out that watching community, race can be used as a clear reason in decision making. In New York police officers use race as a factor in stopping people on the streets, sometimes to scare them. Stating that there is enough evidence for a jury to decide. Blacks and Hispanic generally represent more than 85 percent of those who are stopped by police officers.

The court marked that the police could take a person Hispanic appearance to jurisdiction when acquiring suspicious hint that a vehicle may obtain illegal immigrants. The attention becomes to the nation focusing on trisomy. Another thing the nation is paying attention to immigration. People moving to the U.S. caused a lot of racial profiling because of new people coming in. everybody should get equally treated. “Background injustice might led us to suspect that when the police racially profile blacks drivers, they might sometimes be motivated by a racist attitudes towards black drivers but not white drivers in a harassing manner, or might selectively impose such profiling on blacks in an unfair way” (Habib, 2010, p.36) immigrants get the same treatment as if they were to violate the laws for them coming here to America. As were blacks get treated differently even if we are in the same category. Michelle Alexander stated, “The likelihood that a person of Mexican ancestry is an “alien” could not be significantly higher than the likelihood that any random black person is a drug criminal” (2010, pg.129). People get the wrong idea of racial injustice, and how it still influences history. The Jim Crow laws found it hard dealing with slavery. However, racial injustice effects the young minorities in contemporary America. Poverty is the state of being poor, not having certain necessities to survive in America such as food, shelter, and security. Blacks are the majority in jails, prisons, and the court systems. Former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Hugo Black put his thought in and commented in a decision Griffin v. Illinois. “There can be no equal justice where the kind of trial a man get depends on the amount of money he has.” (Olson, 2005). There are three major issues that society have today involving the criminal justice system. One of the first major issues is race. Race such a major issue because of family influences, cultural influences, and because some people are just ignorant(Olson, 2005).

Despite making up close to 5% of the global population, the U.S. has nearly 25% of the world’s prison population. Since 1970, the incarcerated population in the United States has increased by 700% – 2.3 million people in jail and prison today, far outpacing population growth and crime. One out of every three Black boys born today can expect to go to prison in his lifetime, as can one of every six Latino boys—compared to one of every 17 white boys (Olson, 2005).

In 2000, Hearne, Texas was attacked by an undercover drug bust, leading to the arrest of 15% of the African-American men between 18 and 34. Many innocent minorities were considered drug felons, such as Emma Faye Stewart and Clifford Runoalds. Racial injustice is growing faster and faster, African-American men are arrested thirteen times the rate of white men on drug charges in the U.S. despite roughly equal rates of drug use. Human Right Watch reported in 2000 that, in seven states, African-Americans constitute 80 to 90 percent of all drug offenders sent to prison. (Alexander, 2010 p.96). That been said, Latinos and Blacks make up more than 75% of drug violators in prison. Since the establishment of the War on Drugs, drug admissions for African-Americans skyrocketed, quadrupling in three years. Drug admissions for whites have also increased drastically, but their numbers still aren’t as closed to those of Latinos and Blacks.

It may seem that minorities use more drugs than whites, but that is not true. One study, published in 2000 by the National Institute of Drug Abuse reported that white students use cocaine at seven times the rate of black students, use crack cocaine at eight times the rate of black students, and use heroin at seven more times the rate of black students. (Alexander 2010 p.97). Even though whites use drugs at the same rate as minorities, possibly even higher, they still do not match the numbers of those guilty of it in the minority community, but why? Racial bias.

The racial bias inherent in America was a major reason why 1 in every 14 black men were behind bars in 2006, compared to that of 1 in 106 white men. For young black men, between the ages of twenty and thirty-five, one out of nine of them were behind bars in 2006. More recent research has confirmed that racial profiling of students is still extremely common. Over 70 percent of students involved in school-related arrests are Hispanic or Black, (2010 EdWeek report). And a 2010 survey found that Black students are three-and-a-half times more likely to be suspended or expelled than their white peers. A 2008 University of Pittsburgh study called “Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Differences in School Discipline among U.S. High School Students” concluded that the differences between the suspension and expulsion rates were not linked to differences in behavior, and that there was no information to indicate that Black students acted out more than White students. Instead, they found that Black students were being referred to the office for less serious and more subjective reasons. The conclusion was that racial bias was behind the statistical differences (University of Pittsburgh)

Further, the discrepancy in punishment of minority children in North Carolina was outlined in a 2012 analysis conducted by the Civil Rights Project at UCLA. It was found that Black students were suspended eight times higher for cell phone use, six times higher for dress code violations, two times higher for disruptive behavior and 10 times higher for displays of affection. These punishments have become more common and more severe in the past decade due to the rise of zero tolerance policies, which give school faculty more discretion in giving suspensions and expulsions (University of Pittsburgh).

Between 1972 and 2009, the number of secondary school students suspended or expelled over the course of a school year increased about 40 percent, according to the Vera Institute of Justice.

Like schools, police also use racial bias when it comes to making arrests. A couple years ago, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) gave a powerful speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Scott talked about how he had been repeatedly pulled over by police officers who seemed to be suspicious of a black man driving a nice car. He added that a black senior-level staffer had experienced the same thing and had even downgraded his car in the hope of avoiding the problem. Given that Scott otherwise has pretty conservative politics, there was little objection or protest from the right. No one rose up to say that he was lying about getting pulled over.

Racial profiling is a major part in comprehending racial abuse. Police brutality against African Americans is a serious societal problem that affects many states across the US. It implies the use of unauthorized, illegal, unfair, unnecessary, and otherwise unwarranted violence or brutality by police officers against civilians, regardless if they are breaking the law or not. The issue has gained special prominence in recent years thanks to the numerous killings of young black people that have been perpetrated by police officers. The issue has gone so far that it has spurred various movements, such as the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement. One of the main criticisms against the police forces across America has been that they unfairly discriminate against people of color, while being generally more lenient towards white people (Habib, 2010).

No matter how much The United States advances, in military, politics, economy, etc., equality amongst all people in the United States will never exist. Since before this Nation was independent, discrimination was already taken place in the thirteen colonies and bequeathed the independent United States. Since then, although the U.S. has changed in political, economy, and social points of views, racial prejudice and discrimination have been redesigned. Slavery, the KKK, and Jim Crow laws were all antecedents to the contemporary racial caste system used today through millions of Americans.

Reference

1. Alexander, M.(2010). The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. New York, NY. The New Press Baker, A. (2011, August 31). Judge declines to dismiss case alleging racial profiling by city police in street stops. The New York Times
2. Bou-Habib P. (2011). Racial profiling and background injustice. Journal of Ethics, 15, 33-46. DOI:10.1007/s10892-010-9091– x.
3. Goldstein, J. (2013, August 12). Judge rejects new york’s stop-and-frisk policy. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/13/nyregion/stop-and-frisk-practiceviolatedrightsjudgerules.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
4. Houndmann, M. (2002). What does the bible say about racism, prejudice, and discrimination?. Retrieved from http://www.gotquestions.org/racism-Bible.html
5. Olson, A. (2005). Justice is not blind. People weekly world, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/200609071?accountid=11834
6. Weatherspoon, F. (2004). Racial profiling of African-American males: Stopped, searched, and stripped of constitutional protection. Marshall Law Review,439, Retrieved from http://racism.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1472:constitutional- protection&catid=130:articles-related-to-racial-profiling&Itemid=241

African-American Disparities In Youth Incarceration

Introduction

African-American youth is five times more like to be incarcerated than youth of White and Latino ethnic groups. And although, African-American youth only make up 14% of youth under 18 in the U.S., 43% of African-American boys represent the male population in juvenile facilities, and incarcerated African-American girls make up 34% (Serrano, 2018). These discrepancies are the outcome of many other intersected components besides juvenile delinquency and deviant behavior. For many of these disadvantaged juveniles, their journey begins with their self-perception and how they internalize their race. As they struggle with their roles within society and their psychological and emotional traumas, their family’s socioeconomic status also affects the way they are perceived, accepted and treated not only by the justice system but by the education system as well. As a result, many African-American juveniles wind up victims of the justice system and becoming the status quo in juvenile incarceration.

Race

According to sociologists, race is socially and politically constructed, and it uses particular traits to organize people into hierarchies (Batres Lecture 2019), resulting in inequalities. Since the beginning of time, there has been a stigmatization for African-Americans and their skin color. Since an early age, that stigma is implanted in their self-identity and with time they understand that race will affect their lives and future opportunities in society. In Brinkley-Rubistein, Craven, and McCormack’s study of 2013, a 10-year-old participant stated: “us as African-Americans doesn’t get a lot of privileges.” Young African-Americans seem to accept the idea that individuals of their same race are often criminal offenders. Though it seems many do believe that if they work hard they can be the difference; however, their environment and self-concepts often only give them two alternatives: 1) they beat the statistics and achieve a positive outcome or 2) they fall into the expectations and join the gang and commit their lives to the never ending cycle of deviant behavior, increasing yet their associations with the justice system. As previously stated, African-American children are exposed to early racial internalizations. Since an early age they are taught to think and behave differently because even the simplest of their actions can be criminalized. As they are being taught how to add and subtract, they are also being taught about discrimination and the societal ideals and stereotypes against their race; internalizing that “they are bad people” simply for the color of their skin.

Internalizing stereotypes can cause traumas in early childhood and mold future behaviors. A 2013, study by Kang and Burton showed, that young African-Americans who experienced considerable levels of trauma were more likely to get involved in delinquency. Stereotype theorist suggest that lack of future aspirations can result in disconnection from social institutions, because they fear they may validate preexisting societal stereotypes. (Brinkley-Rubistein, Craven & McCormack, 2013). Moreover, according to the Labeling theory, one internalizes cultural expectations and when an individual is often labeled as deviant, then individual internalizes the idea and acts upon it by taking on the role, resulting in this particular case in delinquency. This is the proclaimed result of the African-American youth, they are criminalized by their skin color since an early age and eventually take on the role that’s society has given them. As they start experiencing life and seeing the limitations society provides, they began disassociating from their race. Cases have been registered in which African-American’s when looking for better opportunities, lie about their ethnic groups on paper, demonstrating the effects of social categorization.

Social Environment

As they take on the delinquent label given by society, they begin their journey in life, and struggle with their roles and self-identity. Many of African-Americans deal with additional life obstacles. Many of the incarcerated youth has experienced living disadvantages in their early lifetime. Income is the most pronounce factor when it comes to equality and inequality, particularly when it comes to race. African-American unemployment is often at high rates as they are often without jobs or have lesser employment opportunities, when compared to other ethnic groups, often depending on public program assistance. In the 2009 study by McCarter, data showed African-American reported an annual family income less than $25,000. It is important to note, the African-American community does not only struggle with race internalization and income inequality but with family as well.

Family structure and human interaction is fundamental for humans. It is often a safety net and when that safety is fractured, many psychological traumas can happen. Recent statistics show many African-American families are broken. And a study was conducted where most whites reported to live in two-parent households, while African-Americans live mostly in a household where mom was the single parent (McCarter 2009). Families who have only a single parent home tempt to struggle financially, and poverty is a predominant factor for delinquency and crime.

Economic status does not only affect a household, it also affects parenting. The lack of supervision in low-income households is frequent. And the lack of supervision in disorderly neighborhoods has a significant relation to contact with police. For African-Americans living in disorderly neighborhoods, their chances of being stopped and interrogated by police increase (Peirone, Maticka-Tyndale, Gbabedo & Kerr 2017). When African-American youth experience police discrimination as they are being racially targeted and stopped, the propensity of getting involved in deviant behavior increases. Unfortunately, treatment and respect are often given to individuals based on their socioeconomic status. And most of juvenile delinquents live in low-income communities that are often heavily policed, making their delinquency or inappropriate behavior more noticeable. Additionally, African-American youth is often discriminated against when seen unsupervised in public places. When seeing by police or security, it is often assumed they are involved in mischievous behavior and “they must be up to no good” is often the assumption.

Education

Moreover, when children live in broken homes, poverty and little parent supervision their education becomes endangered. The education system is not of excellence in poor neighborhoods and addition to that, the importance of an education is often over looked by household parents who struggle financially, resulting in early drop-outs or grade repetition. A study showed, 39% of African-American males are more likely to repeat a grade, while white males only represent 28.1% of that population (McCarter 2009). Moreover, records show, the education system often criminalizes misbehavior of African-American students when compared to those of white descent. And African-American students also feel targeted during standardized examinations, they feel that based on those test results, the education systems determine how good or bad they are, and that they based those results on the number of prisons the country will build. (Brinklely-Rubisten, Craven & McCormack 2013). In correlation, the lack of education may contribute in juvenile delinquency and school misbehaving.

Even when school retention is attained, African-Americans are suspended more frequently from schools than those of white descent even for the same types of misbehaving. The education systems create exclusionary discipline that increases African-American youth contact with the justice system. African-American students are 1.5 times more likely to get suspended for tobacco-related offenses than white students. However, the higher disproportions are found in cases of weapon offenses by African-American and white students. African-American students who commit the serious violation, experience a 95% out-of- school suspension while the white students only received 85%. (Nicholson-Crotty, Birchmeier & Valentine 2009). The undeniable differences are the result of the racial disproportion referrals to juvenile facilities or boot camps where they are often disciplined like prisoners, creating yet more negative attitudes toward misbehaving African-American students and categorizing them as juvenile criminals.

Justice System

As previously mentioned, living in heavy policed neighborhood (i.e. low-income), their chances of becoming in contact with police increases. Race discrimination relates to high rates of delinquency among African-Americans. Research shows, African-Americans are often discriminated against by police enforcement. A study showed, racial discrimination of African-Americans had a heavy impact on juvenile delinquency (Kang & Burton 2013). Today, police brutally cases are often first-column news and the Black Lives Matter Movement has been crated to bring awareness of the injustices and criminalization of African- Americans. Although, in some cases an individual may have a prior record, a record does not determine who someone is. But it is important to note that crime records do not affect everyone equally. An African-American adult with a prior record can miss out on many job opportunities, while a white person may have a higher possibility of being reincorporated into society once again after serving time. The circumstances do not change when referring to underage delinquents. In the justice system it may seem as if everyone is prosecuted equally and according to the law, however, that may not always be the case. Though everyone is prosecuted, not everyone is sanctioned the same. In a 2009 study, research showed that even if high percentages of juvenile delinquents for both whites and African-Americans are arrested and detained, whites are often diverted during processing (McCarter 2009). Whites are expected to be “the change”, therefore they are given additional opportunities and minor sanctions such as parole, community service and probation to turn their lives around, making black incarceration rates higher than those of white descent. When interviewed, professionals of the justice system, agreed race was indeed a major factor on the decision- making of sanctions and juvenile processing (McCarter 2009). Though, the justice system is supposed to serve the law and its citizens equally, it seems as if much of the decision-making is based on stereotypes, racial profiling, discrimination and racism beliefs.

Conclusion

Discrimination is still a very predominant characteristic of today’s society not only against most minority groups but particularly against the African-American community. According to the research, African-American youth, is more likely to be incarcerated and penalized with harder sanctions than any other ethnic group, including whites. And rather than rehabilitating and targeting the issue from the root by analyzing all the outside elements that causes juvenile delinquency among the African American youth; they are often criminalized and being referred to prison by their own schools. It is time, the education system creates alternatives and free programs to maintain African-American youth in school and keep them engaged. It is time, the laws are changed and reformed where no juvenile under the age of 18 should be tried as adult nor be sent to the juvenile system. It is time, less prisons are created, and more rehabilitation programs are designed to address the issues that matter and their issues and reintegrate juveniles into society once again. Youth is the future of our country; It is time for change.

References

1. Batres, C. (2019). Assimilation, Race and Ethnicity [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from Blackboard.
2. Brinkley-Rubinstein, L., Craven, K. L., & McCormack, M. M. (2013). Shifting Perceptions of Race and Incarceration as Adolescents Age: Addressing Disproportionate Minority Contact by Understanding How Social Environment Informs Racial Attitudes. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal,31(1), 25-38.
3. Kang, H., & Burton, D. L. (2014). Effects of Racial Discrimination, Childhood Trauma, and Trauma Symptoms on Juvenile Delinquency in African American Incarcerated Youth. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma,23(10), 1109-1125.
4. McCarter, S. A. (2009). Legal and Extralegal Factors Affecting Minority Overrepresentation in Virginia’s Juvenile Justice System: A Mixed-Method Study. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal,26(6), 533-544.
5. Nicholson-Crotty, S., Birchmeier, Z., & Valentine, D. (2009). Exploring the Impact of School Discipline on Racial Disproportion in the Juvenile Justice System. Social Science Quarterly,90(4), 1003-1018.
6. Peirone, A., Maticka-Tyndale, E., Gbadebo, K., & Kerr, J. (2017). The Social Environment of Daily Life and Perceptions of Police and/or Court Discrimination among African, Caribbean, and Black Youth. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice,59(3), 346-372.
7. Serrano, A. (2018). Juvenile Injustice: Racial Disparities in Incarceration Start Early. Retrieved from https://www.colorlines.com/articles/juvenile-injustice-racial-disparities-incarceration-start-early

Media Influence on Perceptions of African Americans in Criminal Justice System in the US: Trial of OJ Simpson

To what extent do the media influence perceptions of African Americans in the criminal justice system in the US

“Stereotypes are not mysterious or arbitrary, but grounded in the observations of everyday life.” (Eagly, A. 2015, “How Do Stereotypes Form and Can They Be Altered?”).

Stereotypes are integrated within everyday life due to media representation and personal experiences. On the least harmful part of the spectrum comes the stereotype surrounding high school drop outs. The idea that they are less educated and incapable of holding a job worthy of suitable pay, simply because they decided to discontinue their education; however, on a greater scale, media representation has “consistently overhyped the link between black families and criminality” (Mohdin, A. ,2017, “The media ends up racializing poverty by presenting a distorted image of black families”). For this reason, the focus of this dissertation will be to find to what extent the media influence perceptions of African Americans in the criminal justice system in the US.

This is a relevant topic because as of recent years, the talks of racism have seemed to grow more volatile in the United States of America, with many African American people feeling as though they are not being granted fair treatment by the very services put in place to protect them (Bordua and Tifft 1971). African Americans occupy a mere 12.3% of the entire American population, but 40% of the US prison population (Wikipedia) and many believe it is down to the media’s portrayal of black people and other minority races, which has led to a clear systematic divide in society. People born into these families are brought up to view the police as “a visible sign of majority domination” as stated by Ronald Weitzer (2004). The police force has become a symbol of oppression and domination to these people. As a result of this, they are more likely to leave an encounter with the police feeling upset or angry (Bordua and Tifft 1971), and also feel that they have not received procedural justice from the officers, which lowers the overall opinion of the police within these communities (Tyler and Huo 2002).

Throughout this dissertation, the principle aim is to use current research and academic journals on the topic to conduct an analysis of the justice system in the US and arrive to a conclusion as to the importance/unimportance of the medias representation of black men and women in changing the attitudes of the enforcers of this justice system, such as judges, police officers, etc. I will be comparing the verdicts of three prominent trials in American history: The infamous trial of OJ Simpson, the wrongful imprisonment of John Bunn and finally the trial and treatment of Dylann Roof. There are many cases, which are very similar to the cases that will be examined; however, due to the scope of the research being too wide and therefore potentially impacting on the quality of analysis undertaken.

The effect of stereotypes

As previously stated, stereotypes are prevalent to today’s society and are very difficult to disband once an individual acquires them “Both entertainment and news media are powerful forces in creating and perpetuating negative cultural stereotypes, especially about racial and ethnic groups”. (Perception Institute, “Representation: Culture & Perception”) Living in the 21st Century west, people are constantly exposed to the media. It is more integrated into our way of living than ever before with 96.6% of people in the US and 95.5% of people in the UK all owning TVs in 2018, alongside the 62.8% of the worldwide population owning a mobile phone of some sort in 2016 with this number projected to grow to 67% in 2019 according to Statista. This vast audience gives advertisers and directors a large platform to convey messages about society and influence social change. This is evident more recently with Disney Channel making history by featuring an openly gay character in one of their storylines of the show “Andi Mack” to help normalise being homosexual and encourage children to be open with their sexuality. In the same way the hit film of 2018 “Black Panther”, similarly does the same thing by being the first superhero film to have an all-black cast. This is a positive depiction of black people as it puts black men and women in front of a large audience looking powerful and fighting for the forces of good rather than being depicted as sexually aggressive and unintelligent as seen in the 1915 film “The Birth of a Nation”. This film is described to have revived the Ku Klux Klan, which had been dormant due to government suppression. The anti-black film along with the anti-immigration climate that was present in 1915 America, led the Klan to associate itself with the movie’s success and use it as a means of recruiting potential members by depicting themselves as saviours of the country and protectors of the nation from foreigners. (History.com, “How ‘The Birth of a Nation’ Revived the Ku Klux Klan”.)

In order to understand the effect of such stereotypes presented in these movies and the negative attitudes towards minority races, it is worth defining what racism actually is. The Oxford dictionary defines racism as “Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior” or “The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics, abilities, or qualities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.” Through the poor representation of black people in movies such as “The Birth of a Nation”, racist views are passed on through generations, which have detrimental consequences when the people, who hold these views of minority races, are in positions of power, such as police officers, judges and parole officers. These people, alongside many others, are misled into believing that these ethnic minorities are threatening and act in a manner that is portrayed by the media, which could potentially be the reason for much of the systematic racism that is present in the US.

Review of Literature

Although stereotypes prove to be a contributing factor to why those of black origin tend to be treated worse by authority figures in society, it is not the only factor. There is currently an on-going debate regarding the state of the US judicial system and whether it is/is not in need of reformation. Reetu Mody (2014) states that “Our criminal justice system works exactly as designed. Its original purpose was to incarcerate poor men of color, which the criminal justice system does with painful intensity.” She then emphasises this point by stating that “Prosecutorial and jury bias means that 1 in 3 Black men will spend time in prison. In addition, the Sentencing Project in the Criminal Justice Primer found that Blacks serve the same amount of time in federal prison for drug offenses (58.7 months) as Whites serve for violent offenses”, through this source it is evident that the judicial system in America is seemingly stacking the odds against people of colour and intentionally in place to ensure that black men and women are behind bars. Mody makes reference to two controversial cases involving police murders of black men: The fatal choking of unarmed Eric Garner by Officer Panteleo and the murder of Michael Brown at the hands of Officer Darren Brown, who fired six shots at the unarmed 18 year old. These cases are clear examples of when the justice system has failed to do right by the family of the victims and has instead triggered outrage and riots by letting the police brutality go unpunished. However, the police officers were seemingly doing their jobs and cannot be fully at fault for having killed either of the black men. The depiction of black men is already an issue and the areas in which the officers were serving were regarded as dangerous (St Louis, Missouri, which is known for violence and conflict with police officers) (Staten Island, New York, which is known for its high crime rate.) Ronald Weitzer and Steven A. Tuch further reiterated Moby’s message by stating “For many whites, controlling crime is roughly equivalent to intensifying law enforcement against minority individuals or in minority communities. Whites’ identification with the police and perceptions of minorities can be linked to the group-position thesis”, essentially what both sources are making reference to is the broken judicial system that is still in operation to this day. The criminal justice system has seemingly stacked the odds against those living in poverty-striken conditions offering these people harsher sentences and treating them poorly when confronting them. Weitzer raises the interesting point surrounding “group-position thesis”, which essentially means that white people will more likely identify ethnic minorities as a threat to their ingroup and therefore hold negative attitudes towards them. An attack on the police force is indirectly an attack on their ingroup (Bayley and Mendelsohn 1969:200–4). “For white people to accept that minorities are mistreated would lend give credit to reforms that might dilute crime control, thereby threatening whites” (Ronald Weitzer and Steven A. Tuch, 2004).

On the other hand, Kenneth H. Clevenger completely disagrees with the statement referring to the judicial system as “broken”. Clevenger stated that “I am no apologist for America; I acknowledge our flaws and failings, but our judicial system is not a major defect in our society”. Clevenger believes that the judicial system regardless of its faults and failings is still a good system, but he makes some very plausible points and puts the blame onto the media for cultural and racial bias in cases where black people are on trial. Clevenger states that the judicial system has a rule of “innocent until proven guilty”, with its purpose “to protect against witchcraft hysteria, lynching, government oppression through police agencies and racial or cultural bias”. The media is the damaging factor that influences people into believing that people not yet convicted of a crime, but put on trial are guilty because of factors that wouldn’t have been taken into account in a court of law.

The wrongful imprisonment of John Bunn

One particular case where the media’s depiction of young black men in deprived areas cost a man his life, is the trial and imprisonment of John Bunn. At the young age of fourteen years old, Bunn was taken into questioning and was the main suspect in the murder of off-duty Rikers Island corrections officer, Rolando Neischer. The detective on the case was Louis Scarcella, a man, who was suspected of tampering with many of his cases to ensure that suspects were convicted (CNN). One of the officers Robert Crosson, who was present at the time of the shooting further identified Bunn as one of the perpetrators in the attack and he was later put on trial during the months that followed. Bunn faced twenty seven years in total for a crime he was later exonerated for in May 2018, after a review was conducted on the case, making him the 12th man to be exonerated of convictions related to investigations by Louis Scarcella. John Bunn’s case is only one of many, where black men’s lives have been taken away from them as a result of slight misidentification and false evidence, but there were many factors that influenced this case and triggered the unjust arrest of John Bunn. Firstly, John Bunn grew up in the Kingsborough Projects in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, which is renowned for being extremely unsafe, even more so than New York. According to the neighborhoodscout.com, citizens in Brooklyn are two times more likely to be affected by a violent crime in their lifetime than those living in New York. The poor reputation of the area in which the alleged suspect was from, could have impacted the verdict of Bunn’s case, as to the jury he would have been seen as just another troubled boy coming from a deprived area, taking his envy to dangerous territory and murdering an innocent off-duty officer in a failed armed robbery.

In addition, Bunn also had very damning evidence against him, the eyewitness testimony of Officer Crosson, who was present at the scene where his partner Officer Neischer was murdered. Crosson identified Bunn during a police lineup and this was the main piece of evidence used to place Bunn alongside his accomplice at the crime scene and charge them with murder.

Furthermore, another factor in the imprisonment of John Bunn was the media’s coverage of black men at the time. The image portrayed of a man resonates with the viewers and this is evident through the rapid conclusion of John Bunn’s trial, ending all in just one day. Based on the time taken to come to a consensus, it is only right to assume that John Bunn was not given fair representation in that courtroom and he was already doomed to be convicted for a crime he did not commit even before he set foot inside. This can only be narrowed down to the prejudgments made by the jury based on criminal and poor depiction of black men and women. “In the US, black families represent 59% of the poor in the media, but make up just 27% of the poor of the general population, White families, on the other hand, represent 17% of the poor in media, but make up 66% of the poor across the country” (Mohdin, A. ,2017, “The media ends up racializing poverty by presenting a distorted image of black families”).

“The study conducted also concluded that the media overrepresented the link between black families and criminality and underrepresented it for white families. Researchers pointed out that black family members represented 37% of criminals in the media, but made up 26% of family members arrested for criminal activity, according to crime reports. White families members represented 28% of criminals in the media, but made up 77% of those arrested for criminal activity.” This source demonstrates how the overrepresentation of black people and criminal activity made it very possible for John Bunn to become a victim of stereotyping so grave that it deprived him of his childhood experiences and landed him in prison. On the other hand, it is also worth noting that although the source gives figures showing some alarming signs of negative representation in the media, it fails to take into account the percentages in relation to the amount of people of that certain race living in America, therefore making it seem as though the media is over representing black people and linking them to poverty and criminality and underrepresenting white people.

The OJ Simpson Trial

Another contrasting case to John Bunn’s case, which was infamous for the verdict, despite so much evidence being conjured up against the defendant. The trial in question is the infamous OJ Simpson trial. Orenthal James Simpson, who played for both the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers, was a running back praised as one of the top 10 NFL running backs in league history and is claimed to have “dragged the Bills back to relevance” (Bleacher Report, NFL Nostalgia: Ranking the Best Running Backs in NFL History). In 1975, Simpson rushed (Rushing- when the running backs are running with the ball when starting from behind the line of scrimmage with the intention to catch the opposition off-guard gain more yards) for 2,003 yards in a 14-game season in, setting a league record, which to this day remains unbroken, he was a household name and was loved by the media for performing such feats; however on 12th June 1994 Nicole Brown Simpson was murdered and everything public perceptions on OJ began to change for the worse. OJ was arrested on June 17th 1994 following a televised car chase with the police. The trial began on 25th January 1995 and was often labelled “The trial of the century” (NY Times, “The O.J. Simpson Murder Trial, as Covered by The Times”) but this trial was also the first trial of the digital century and had a great online following with Compuserve gaining 2.6 million subscribers at the commencement of the trial (NY Times). “If you can’t arrange your schedule to watch all the trial coverage, we’ll have daily updates.” this quote taken from Compuserve emphasises just how important the trial was to the nation, “The reading of the final verdict was considered so momentous that students in local Los Angeles schools watched it live on television from their classrooms” (The Daily Jstor, O.J. Simpson: Media Spectacle Then and Now).

The trial of OJ Simpson was declared not guilty on October 3rd 1995 as the nation watched. Reactions were divided, mainly across racial lines (The Guardian, OJ Simpson: an eternal symbol of racial division – or has America moved on?) “In a 1995 CBS poll 76% of whites thought the former NFL star was guilty meanwhile just 22% of blacks thought so. Now 79% of whites and 41% of blacks think that. Around only 10% of whites and 39% of blacks think he is not guilty (The Guardian). This racial divide was played on as a tactic from the defendants legal team, OJ Simpson was in a courtroom with a predominantly African American jury and an overwhelming amount of evidence against him. After the legal team were able to successfully prove that the gloves present at the crime scene did not in fact belong to OJ in June 15th 1995. The famous lines uttered were “If the glove don’t fit, you must acquit”, and this is a quote that resonated with the African American community throughout the duration of the trial. It was painted as a manhunt against another successful African American at the hands of a system put in place by white men, the lawyers clearly appealed to black people essentially stating that if they didn’t stand with OJ, then they were against the community and the prospering of another fellow black man. The ability to appeal to the jury and the rest of the nation comes as a result of media influence. OJ Simpson already had a great following, being recognised as one of the greatest running backs in history, so when people are given even a slight chance that he isn’t in fact guilty for the crimes he is being convicted/accused of then they will stand with him and show their support of his innocence.

The difference between John Bunn’s case and OJ Simpson’s case other than the overall verdict, is the media coverage the cases got when they were rife. OJ Simpson’s trial was very high profile, as he was an African American celebrity, the controversy that arose from this trial triggered many split decisions and the use of race as a motivator to stand by OJ made the defences statements in the courtroom seem very plausible and thus ensuring the release of OJ Simpson. However, John Bunn was a 14 year old illiterate African American boy, who was misidentified at a police line-up and had his whole life taken away from him after a one day trial. The mere fact that the trial was only one day long stands as evidence of where the justice system can fail to actually serve justice, how was Bunn meant to receive sufficient legal representation and defend himself before a jury all in the process of one day? Judge Simpson, who overturned Bunn’s second trial in 2018 and declared him a free man said “This case was tried . . . jury was picked, testimony was given and it concluded all in one day, I don’t consider that justice at all.’ This puts emphasis on the inequity that John Bunn experienced as a victim of a failing justice system and is just another example of an African American man experiencing injustice at the hand of the Justice System as previously mentioned by Reetu Moby (2014): “Our criminal justice system works exactly as designed. Its original purpose was to incarcerate poor men of color, which the criminal justice system does with painful intensity.”

Dylann Roof

Dylann Roof is an American, white supremacist, who was charged for the murder of 9 African American during a prayer service at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC. More than 12 hours after Dylann fleed the scene the police were successful in apprehending him. The mass murderer was then given a bullet proof vest and treated to burger king, because he was hungry, meanwhile unarmed African Americans such as Antwon Rose, 17, are brutally murdered at the hands of police based on suspicions (USA Today Unarmed black teen shot, killed by police as he was running away in Pittsburgh). Dylann later confessed to the killings with pride and stated “I am just a sociopath” (Washington Post “I’m just a sociopath,” Dylann Roof declared after deadly church shooting rampage, court records say) he was later sentenced to death and is currently on death row.

Dylann Roof, OJ Simpson and John Bunn are 3 majorly different cases, one is of a poor, underrepresented, wrongly accused African American man, the second is of a legendary American football running back, who was put on trial and separated the nation and finally the latter is the gentle treatment of a white man, who murdered 9 people and was then treated to food by the police, but how different was the media’s involvement and coverage of all these cases?

Firstly, the John Bunn case received very little media coverage, it was merely a behind the scenes conviction that journalists didn’t necessarily care about since it was handled so quickly. John Bunn may not have necessarily been a victim of the media, but he was definitely a victim of racial prejudice, which came as a result of the medias representation of African Americans. This differs from OJ Simpson, who was given the maximum amount of media coverage a defendant could possibly receive. OJ Simpson’s reputation as one of the greatest sportsmen of his time definitely helped persuade people to side with him and go against the police. OJ’s case divided the nation and it was later revealed that the detective that filed the report against OJ, Detective Fuhrman, has had a history of racism and when questioned on the stand about whether he had ever falsified a report, he pled his Fifth Amendment right (NY Times, Detective Fuhrman Takes the Fifth). Finally Dylann Roof’s case remains the most peculiar of them all, especially in the current climate, where police brutality is rife in the US, Roof murdered 9 people in a church and fled the scene. After a 12 hour manhunt he was found and was gently apprehended by the police. The police ensured that he was protected by giving him a bullet proof vest and fed him Burger King, because he was hungry. The media’s coverage of Dylann Roof’s case was intensely negative and critical of the police force for their handling of matters when a white male was involved and shooting and killing unarmed black males. However, the reason why Dylan Roof was possibly treated more gently than other black criminals could come as a result of stereotyping and prejudice. The media, as previously mentioned, has been shown to greatly villainise black people, by over representing them as criminals in mainstream media compared to their white counterparts.

Conclusion

In conclusion it is evident that the media has a great influence over trials and the perceptions of people, which can therefore influence a jury into carrying prejudgements of a defendant; however, there are other factors that come into play, which have seemingly been ignored. It is worth considering the competence of the justice system in new era where everything is now online. The power of the justice system in undermined when journalists can post something online, which is capable of skewing the views of millions of people or influence a random jury to declare someone as guilty or innocent, not based on evidence gathered, but based on articles read outside of the courtroom. There would be a need for serious reform in order for defendants not to experience “Trial by media”.

Black Lives Matter vs All Lives Matter Essay

Introduction

Black lives matter is a large organization that helps incidents of lives being taken by police and all violence against black people. My main focus on this essay is going to include police brutality, Racism against African-Americans, and as a whole, the movement of Black Lives Matter. I’m also going to talk about how saying All Lives Matter instead of Black Lives Matter can be bad.

Black Lives Matter started in 2013 as a Hashtag after Trayvon Martins Murder was acquitted, it’s a social movement protesting against incidents of police brutality and all racially motivated violence against black people. Trayvon’s death made people aware that racism is still happening and people need to be informed about it. Trayvon Martin was shot dead on the 13th of July 2013 by George Zimmerman, He was a 17-year-old African-American high school student. Trayvon was just walking past a store on the way home when Zimmerman a member of community watch saw Trayvon and reported him for looking suspicious. George Zimmerman was injured during the altercation with Trayvon Martin as he said he shot Trayvon in defense but was no evidence to prove it. George Zimmerman was found not guilty and when people heard this a national outburst started protests across the U.S to take place demanding justice. The Black Lives Matter goal is to support the development of new black leaders and create a network where black people feel empowered to determine our destinies in our communities, Black Lives Matter is currently taking place in the U.S, UK and Canada.

Racism was a big thing for African-Americans in the late 1900s and its sadly still going on till this day. From the looks of it, it seems like it’s never going to stop but Black Lives Matter are doing their best to help put a stop to Racism. A lot of black people struggle to get a job just because of the color of their skin or that they don’t seem as smart as white people, this can lead to health issues and a struggle with poverty. Many parents will not let their children go to school because they are scared that they could get involved with racism or they don’t want their children to experience it, in order for racism to stop we have to stop teaching it as no one is born racist and begin to start listening to people who are showing they have a voice. You would think that the laws being passed about granting people their rights it would help fix the problem of racism just a little bit but it seems like history is going to repeat itself again. I find it sickening how Racism is still going on today but hopefully because of The Black Lives Matter community it will show people around the world that this isn’t okay.

On May 25th, 2020 George Floyd an African-American man was killed during an arrest outside a shop in Minneapolis, George Floyd was reported for paying with a fake bill when buying cigarettes, Officers Derek Chauvin, Alexander Kueng, Tou Thao and Thomas Lane where involved with Floyds arrest. These officers tried to put Mr. Floyd in the police car, officer Thomas Lane pulled Mr. Floyd causing him to fall to the ground face down, and in handcuffs. He was restrained by officers while Mr. Chauvin placed his knee on Floyds neck. Witnesses began to film what was happening as George Floyd appeared to be distressed. He said more than 15 times he couldn’t breathe, he was pleading for his mother and at one stage he gasps ‘ You’re going to kill me, man’ and officer Chauvin replied ‘Then stop talking, stop yelling. It takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk’. George Floyd begged and pleaded for his life. 6 Minutes after he fell silent George Floyd was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead an hour later. These officers were arrested and Derek Chauvin was charged with second degree murder. This one person has lead such a big change after his death as Global Tributes and protests have become much bigger as 15 to 26 Million people in the U.S have participated in these marches, and cities in 50 Countries have held demonstrations. There have been statues taking down that have had links to slavery, More companies joining Black Lives Matter, There were also more police officers being charged and Celebrities donating to charities and bailing out protesters.

Police Brutality is a big thing that Black Lives Matter are protesting against. It started in the early 70s due to lack of equal rights for African-Americans and since then over the last several years its left people wondering if policemen are actually doing their jobs right. Black Lives Matter provides an insight to the public of what is happening between police officers and the black community. In 1991 The blue Wall of Silence started, This was used in the U.S to keep officers’ mouths shut if their colleagues did something wrong as in they wouldn’t report it. They started this as it would protect their barriers, some officers choose to do the right thing and others choose to keep their mouth shut. The Blue Wall of Silence is still happening to this day. More than Millions of people have died and are struggling over police brutality. A lot of Rappers would use their music to rap about their experiences with it and tell them they’re not alone or to influence people to speak up.

My opposite view is why it’s problematic to say All Lives Matter. All lives Matter sounds like we are all in this together or some people may mean all race should join hands and stand together against racism, which is a statement that comes from a good place. But the problem isn’t that it’s about the Phrase takes the focus away from those who need it. Someone in a protest said ‘They said Black Lives Matter They never said Only Black Lives Matter, we all know All Lives Matter we just need your help as black lives are in danger’ I think this is a great example as they are wanting to show people who say All Lives Matter that it doesn’t exactly help their situation in what there wanting people to notice.

In conclusion, saying all lives matter over Black Lives Matter is problematic to our society as white people are privileged to not be racially profiled to doing everything while black people haven’t been given the basic human right to not be racially profiled. Black Lives Matter is a strong case that will continue to get stronger and gain momentum, In an ideal world, everybody should be equal no matter what race or skin color and should have the same rights and privileges as each other, we should all be working together to making this a reality in the future.

Gun Violence among African American Essay

The Second Amendment or the right to bear arms is an ongoing issue. Gun regulation is not strictly regulated in America and there have been numerous mass shootings in the past few years. Gun regulations should be better enforced by the government. People who have guns in their home is associated with an increased risk of violent death in their homes. Many people believe gun violence is inspired by violent video games, but it is not to be blamed for it. Others blame African-American men for their gun violence because of their skin color. African Americans are critiqued; their violence does not differentiate between those who hurt others and those who are trying to live a simple life in their neighborhoods.

The music video, This Is America, by Childish Gambino, uses a satirical tone of the music and dance choreography. At the beginning of the scene, it shows the uplifting vocal music of a choir in the background. As the camera moves forward toward the lone chair, a guitarist comes insight and plays a calm tune in an empty warehouse. The camera then passes over the guitarist and Gambino comes into full view. Gambino’s dance movement and facial expressions were very exaggerated as he reached the seated guitarist man. And instead of him playing the guitar, he was head bagged, hands tied, and his clothes were deteriorated. Here, viewers do not know what will happen next until Gambino pulls out a handgun. Following this, Gambino shoots him in the head, therefore instantly killing him. The lead guitarist was then dragged out of the scene and this shows that no one cares about him after he was shot. People then found out that Gambino’s dance movements and facial expressions were modeled after Jim Crow. The Jim Crow laws were enforced segregation set of laws in the Southern United States. This character was commonly used as a reference to blackface. White actors would perform black-faced and black stereotyping. This is a criticism of America for not valuing black lives. This promotes the awareness of equal rights since black Americans are unfairly treated by the color of people. This could also show the hatred and racism against minorities as well.

The next scene shows a choir singing a piece of faithful music and then Gambino comes out of the door in the back. He then dances so awkwardly to the front of the choir and a flying automatic assault rifle appears. He catches it, quickly turns around, and mows the entire choir down without any hesitation. Then he walks away as people rush past him like he did nothing wrong. He adds a chilling touch of reflection on America today with drum beats. The choir represents the tragic event at the Charleston church shooting in South Carolina. The music video shows gun violence and police brutality against black African Americans. A part of this scene suggests the violent history of state Christianity. This reference to hate crime is part of the scene that seems to reflect the growing tensions of the public with a Christianity that provides nothing but prayers.

Gambino then raps, “This is a celly” which means that people would record a crime scene that is taking place or people would call for help instead of getting involved or intervening in the situation. The video unveils police violence which turns into the execution of black people in America. Others would argue that police brutality in the United States is sometimes unwarranted and they often illegally use force against citizens. Some police cases would make biased excuses for shooting racially black men. Studies found that white officers are more likely to shoot black civilians than any other minorities. Then came the Black Lives Matter movement where thousands of African-American communities protested against violence and systematic racism towards black people. The next scene then shows a person falling and getting hurt in the background while Gambino is dancing. The background was blurred and distorted which represents real-life injustices. It was a distraction to the audience and it means that no one is paying attention to something that is a bigger issue in America. The main focus was seeing Gambino dancing awkwardly throughout the music video.

At the end of the video, Gambino is seen running in a dark place being chased by a group of non-black people. He is running for his life doing everything in his power to escape.

A music video about gun violence is not an easy thing that many viewers would like to watch. People would rather value guns than protect people’s lives and this is the world we live in today. Gun violence is preventable if parents are always aware of their children of any warning signs because it could prevent any tragic event. The entire video had a very satirical dance with a direct message. Placing choreography at the front and center seems to suggest that mainstream culture is all Americans see when they see the black community.

African American Stereotypes in the Media: Critical Essay

Stereotype is a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a person or thing. Stereotype is also any thought that is widely adopted about specific types of individuals or behaviors. These thoughts or beliefs may or may not accurately reflect reality. Even though it’s not often times true, it is targeting black Americans immensely because these persons are of African descent or called black Americans. There are various stereotypes such as men being regarded as stereotypical brute criminals, and black women in movies viewed as sex symbols. The root cause behind these stereotypes is racism, and this will not change until racism is abolished. Roxanne Gay confirmed this in one of her reading materials, ‘The Oscars and Hollywood’s Race Problem’: “Hollywood has always had a race problem, the movie industry continues to ignore audiences of color, to its own detriment”. There are various stereotypes about African Americans. In this essay, I’m going to look at how it is influenced by television media.

Stereotypes can be seen in popular TV shows such as ‘Love & Hip Hop’. The popularity of reality TV shows subconsciously supports the prejudiced or self-fulfilling prophecy consumers may have toward African Americans. Reality TV has been guilty of this as they have had an extensive run demeaning African Americans while disseminating stereotypes. This TV show, ‘Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta’ has drawn millions in amazement weekly. To be more specific, black men are portrayed as stereotypical brute individuals on the reality TV show ‘Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta’. The brute stereotype portrays black males as dangerous criminals. The media keeps describing this false image that all black males are violent and dangerous criminals, and nowadays there are even video games supporting this showing black males going around killing and robbing people. This stereotype has a major impact on how black men view themselves and, more importantly, how the rest of society views and treats them.

There are also popular culture songs for European American audiences that created and spread negative stereotypes of African Americans. One of the key symbols was the use of ‘blackface’, other stereotypes include the fat, dark-skinned ‘mammy’. This is however geared towards uncovering the complicated reasoning and attitudinal processes that fundaments stereotyping. While some people frankly embody the traits of their stereotypes, they are not necessarily representative of everyone. Stereotypes are not always accurate, and even if positively demonstrated, they can still be harmful. Negative stereotypes unfurled by the media can hinder one’s ability to relate to others.

Take for example Vh1’s ‘Love & Hip-Hop’. So spectacular and has bridged eight years since its initial track in 2011. They often find themselves in dramatic situations regarding their relationships and gender roles. This is often due to infidelity, lack of respect, and unwillingness to commit, just to name a few of the things that both males and females handle inappropriately. The negative stigma of relationships and adulthood is a staple in the TV show, enticing the audience of young men and women. Now shows like ‘Love & Hip-Hop’ thrive because the men are often expressed as incompetent and selfish whereas the females are painted to be confrontational and oversexualized. These depictions express a negative culture towards gender roles and the relationship that comes with them for the purpose of entertainment. The male actors actually set the tone of the series, while the women bring the drama to life.

Primarily the men in the series are foolish and self-centered regarding their relationships. Often the male characters have relationship issues that are the result of cheating or past infidelities, which causes a lack of trust in their female partners. Take, for example, Stevie J, one of the main characters of the original ‘Love & Hip-Hop’, who has a history of infidelity. In the TV show, Stevie J has a child with Mimi, an ex, who was constantly arguing with his new girlfriend Joseline, who is a former stripper and currently living with him. Stevie knew that the women in his life were always in conflict, but never tried to resolve the situation. Instead, he outlines to Josephine that she needs to respect the mother of his child, and to Mimi that she needs to respect Josephine as his current fiancé. He was also dismissive at times even to the point of ignoring both women’s issues. For example, Mimi in one instance asked Stevie if he was going to marry in her words “that hoe” and his response was “it is, what it is”. This showed there was no attempt to defend his current fiancé from his ex. These are just some of the actions that show a selfish man who doesn’t depict a clear understanding of how to respect women. In his interactions with them both he often yells or raises his voice. Now, this show creates an image he is a man who only has his eyes on working and making money to be a provider. His actions portray less intention to be a better man for his family, but rather further his own goals. This level of selfishness and incompetence is the backbone of the series, which helps fuel the conflict that gives the females their opportunity to shine.

It is also quite evident that ‘Love & Hip-Hop’ adorns the entertainment industry lifestyle with women being highly regarded as sex symbols which creates an attraction for chaos. This is seen amongst the females in ‘Love & Hip-Hop’. Sexuality and confrontation are two themes that are rampant in the majority of the women who participate in the show. Physical fighting, throwing drinks, and derogatory names are expected from most episodes because the women are painted as confrontational and irrational. They are often disrespectful, arrogant, and naïve. In some cases, they are made to look like burdens to their male counterparts rather than equals in the relationship or workplace. The reality is that these TV shows give fans something to talk about every week, despite the lengths to entertain regardless of devaluing females in the process.

The driving force behind one of VH1’s most popular franchises is chaos and conflict, and at the center of it, all are the cultural images of the extreme negativities of gender roles. ‘Love and Hip-Hop’ and its various series have a weekly audience in American homes. The TV show provides unrealistic expectations of modern-day relationships and is also insulting to the stars of the show in the process.

It is evident that stereotypes of African American males as a criminal element in society continue to be a major obstacle to greater racial harmony and the elimination of discrimination and racism on all levels in the United States. Now if we look closely, this criminal stereotype is internalized by African American youths. These youths are made to feel as though delinquent behavior is expected from them, and many fall into this trap. There’s been a struggle to surmount stereotypes as much of the blame for their perpetuation comes from US mass media’s negative depictions of African Americans, by examining the origins of criminal stereotype, how it has been used historically and how it is presented. The African American male criminal stereotype continues to justify concealed and unconcealed racism in contemporary US societies. This is often demonstrated from television to cinema, from music to news coverage. Mass media clearly shows African American males running from the law, they’ve committed crimes, victimized women, and engaged in illegal behaviors. With all this being said. The concept could be considered that there is an underlying weakness in African American families that can be traced back to their experiences as slaves. Both the news media and entertainment outlets must discontinue their practice of equating young African males with aggressiveness, lawlessness, and violence if racism is ever to be truly abolished in the United States.

Television does affect the way viewers think about African Americans in general. Television viewers perceived the occupational roles and personality characteristics that are portrayed on television as real and true to life. Now the media is arguing that for years they’ve been criticized for their representations of African Americans on television. This however has been proven. Literature suggests that although the quantity of African American images on television has increased, the quality of the images has not. There are also strong suggestions that the mass media is an important source of information about African Americans and media portrayals, which is a strong contribution to public perceptions. Davis & Gandy (1999), Gray (1989), Metabane (1988) and the list continues; these persons have argued that black images on television may cause viewers to conceive, alter or even reinforce their beliefs and opinions about blacks.

Stereotypes are mostly bad, they make people judge and fear what they don’t understand. They condition one’s mind not allowing them to think freely on their own. Innocent people are given a hard time because they must see the stereotype of their people being displayed. It affects the ability of people to get a job and also and also their relationships.