¶ … hate crimes against African-Americans. In particular I want to address media portrayals of hate crimes against African-Americans and how media interprets this phenomenon and in turn depicts it. As media is responsible for shaping much of public opinion (Baum, Potter 39), it is helpful to understand how the public is impacted by media portrayals of hate crimes against African-Americans through popular news reports, film and television portrayals, books, magazines, music and even scholarly articles. This essay wants to see if different types of media portray hate crimes against African-Americans with more or less sensitivity, with a more or less judgmental approach, with a more or less confrontational/antagonistic tone, and with more or less sympathy and empathy. This may help us to better understand why hate crimes against African-Americans occur. In order to answer these questions, I will look in particular at films such as Malcolm X by Spike Lee, books like To Kill a Mockingbird, news articles about violence against African-Americans, hip-hop music and scholarly articles that deal...
Spike Lee's film, for example, is a bio-picture of a controversial and celebrated African-American leader who joined the Nation of Islam before being assassinated. He was a strong leader of African-Americans and opposed the white power of the Establishment in America. Spike Lee's film portrays him heroically, but Spike Lee is also an African-American, so it would be interesting to see how establishment news media depicted him during his life. Also Harper Lee's book would be interesting to examine because it is controversial -- so opinions that have been expressed about it in the past will be illuminating. Likewise, an exploration of themes in hip hop music could further shed light on the issue as well as articles on police violence against African-Americans. What I want to accomplish with my essay is an overview of how media shapes our perceptions on race issues, specifically violence against African-Americans. My current view is that various media are antagonistic while other media is sympathetic with a higher philosophical take on the issue. I want to juxtapose patterns and themes and see if a deeper understanding of the phenomenon and the way media portray it can…
African-American Art The art of African-Americans became a powerful medium for social and self-expression. Visual arts including sculpture carried with it political implications related to colonialism, oppression, and liberation. Along with other forms of creative expression, African-American visual arts particularly flourished during the Harlem Renaissance. Three exemplary pieces of art that represent the character, tone, and tenor of African-American art during the Harlem Renaissance include Meta Warrick Fuller's "Ethiopia Awakening," Palmer
African-Americans Baroch, Andrew J. "10 Years after Million Man March, African-Americans return to Washington." VOA News. Retrieved November 13, 2005, from http://www.voanews.com/english/AmericanLife/2005-10-14-voa7.cfm. This article was making a connection between the century-old Million Man March and The "Millions More" March that was scheduled for October 15, 2005. Though the Million Man March was specifically organized for efforts to register African-Americans to vote in U.S. Elections and also to increase black involvement in volunteerism
African-Americans in the News From some of the articles that I have studied, it seems that many articles on the African-American community focus on their problems, on analyzing them and on suggesting possible solutions by which the community can improve its condition. One of these articles, for example, addresses the problem of HIV / AIDS as it is reflected in the African-American community, suggesting that the best solution may actually revolve around
African-American Civil Rights Struggle African-American Civil Rights How Have African-Americans Worked to end Segregation, Discrimination, and Isolation to Attain Equality and Civil Rights? Background to the Movement Discriminatory Laws World War One and the intensification of the Problems The American Civil Rights Movement Rosa Parks Other measures Civil Rights Act 1964 The modern world talks about no racial discrimination, no gender disparity and equality for all strata and ethnicities of society. Discrimination is seen as a complete and utter no-no,
The oil spill in North Carolina caught her attention along with the fact that "Forty-one states send [toxic] waste to Emelle, Alabama, where 86% of the population is African-American" (Kaplan, p. 378). The skill that Burwell showed in pushing the issue that there was clearly a strategy to place dangerous toxic waste dumps -- that give off cancer-causing PCBs -- in areas where minorities lived was impressive. "Dollie, determined
African-Americans History And Culture The false and misleading notion that "African-Americans created themselves" completely ignores and invalidates the rich history of those whose ancestry lies in the great African continent. While African-Americans have adopted and incorporated many cultures into their own (not unlike any other cultural group in America) that in no way signifies that African-American's have no culture or history of their own. "Black people have no history, no heroes, no
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