Skip to main content

GIVE THEM AN INCH, THEY WANT A MILE: MEDIA DISCOVERY INTO THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

GIVE THEM AN INCH, THEY WANT A MILE: MEDIA DISCOVERY INTO THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT 

By Faith Blakey

Through the United States’ torrid history with race and the destruction of the Black body, there has been a constant frame in newsprint and the media. A succinct analyzation of the Civil Rights Movement and the involvement of these forms of comprehensive communication, have portrayed Black Activism negatively. 

From slavery, Emancipation, and Jim Crow to the Civil Rights Movement; there has been no shortage of these adverse illustrations and representations.  Newsprint has produced and promoted either racist or biased rhetoric throughout each of these “infamous” historical periods. Specifically, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s was with a sure purpose that was accomplished through a series of national marches and silenced leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Whitney Young, Gloria Richardson, and Roy Wilkins (O’Rourke, 2012).

 Despite the meticulous efforts and the dedication of its leaders, there was a consistent methodology to promote and transform the motives of the movement, and the black bodies that participated. Much of these representations are present in newsprint images with demonizing captions and rhetoric filled with attitudes of “victimage” (O’Rourke, 2012).  Print news coverage of the movement perceived these efforts of Black activism to be a major a push back to the nation and more specifically, the South. One of the most popular examples is the claim that the South was a “victim of slander, discrimination, and violence” (O’Rourke, 2012). This shift in discourse caused for a frame of Black efforts to be a “violent attack” and “threat” to the safety to the majority. 

In addition to this, the images that were publicized and released to the public produced a negative perception of Black activism. Like the biased rhetoric, most the images were anti-black, amidst the efforts for the presence of pro-blackness (The United States Library of Congress, 2010).  An exploration of these images, do not present the disparity of Blacks, but front page and cover newsprint are clear images of “white tears” and white fragility. A compilation of these images from The United States Library of Congress, show white faces that have been targeted or “threatened” by Black protests (O’ Rourke, 2012). The characterization of the movement, was only powerful for the black community and was rejected as only a “problem” or “nuisance” that The United States government was obligated to fix (O’Rourke, 2012). 

Widespread media coverage allowed for this resentment to be solidified, written and projected to the American public. During the 1960’s newsprint has proved itself to be effective in fostering the anti-blackness that occurred during the Civil Rights Movement.  The attitudes of disregard towards Black activism did not begin with this movement. However, it was a cornerstone in history whose success was not anticipated because of the images and rhetoric of newsprint. From this, issues of blackness (especially Black activism) are in retrograde, with consistent attempts to move forward and simultaneously pulled back by the unfavorable frame created by popular media sources. 







                                                            References 

O’ Rourke, Patrick Sean (2012). Circulation and Noncirculation of Photographic Texts in the Civil Rights Movement: A Case Study of the Rhetoric of Control. Rhetoric and Public Affairs, 15, 685-694.

The United States Library of Congress (2010). The Civil Rights Act of 1964:A Long Struggle for Freedom. Public Programs. Washington, DC: Author.
Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/civil-rights-act/public-programs.html

Word Count: 505
                                                                                                                

Comments

  1. Good start, Faith. Your post takes up the role news discourse (text and images) plays in undermining the legitimacy of Black activism.

    Although your essay puts this struggle in historical context, there is clear connection and relevance to contemporary activism in America today. Perhaps a brief mention of this connection would make this an even more compelling read.

    Likewise, a clear discussion at the outset of the importance of "framing" in news and public discourse would help your readers make sense of the issues you've raised here. Nonetheless, as the opening post for a theme week on media and African-American activism, this makes a valuable contribution.

    Moving forward, I urge you to work on the following. First, in terms of our "house style," there's no need to re-insert your headline in the body of your text. You've already got the headline in CAPS at the top.

    More substantively, there are a few errors in punctuation and word choice you should work on. For instance, use the word "analysis" not "analyzation" as you have here. Then there's the improper use of a semi-colon in the first sentence of the second paragraph.

    Likewise, some of your sentence construction is awkward. See, for example, the sentence that begins, "Specifically, the Civil Rights movement ....

    Same with the sentence that starts: "An exploration ....

    More substantively, you might want to explain the word "victimage." That phrase has very discrete meaning, so you want to tell your readers how you are using it. Lest we miss out on this important insight.

    Finally, check your use of APA reference style. You haven't quite mastered it yet.

    Again, good start. Keep it coming!

    26/30 pts.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DECONSTRUCTING HOMOSEXUAL STEREOTYPES

By Tess Weigel This year Netflix released a reboot of the Bravo series Queer Eye for the Straight Guy with a new cast of five gay men. The 2018 Queer Eye casts consists of Antoni Porowski, Tan France, Kamaro Brown, Bobby Berk, and Jonathan Van Ness. Each member of the Fab Five has a specialty of food, fashion, culture, design, and grooming, respectively. This reboot of Queer Eye is designed to deconstruct the negative and outdated stereotypes of gay men. In each episode, the Fab Five addresses topics such as homosexual relationships, homosexuality in religion, and minorities within the gay community.  Before 2018’s Queer Eye , only 3.6% of gay males have been portrayed in television against the 94.9% of heterosexual males (Kidd, 2014). While the frequency of the presence of gay men in the media has increased, the negative stereotype of how a gay man is portrayed amongst the plot line in television needs to be reconstructed to represent all different types of gay men. Fo...

PREVALENCE OF COLORISM IN BLACK AMERICAN MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS

By: Cailey Griffin     It would be extremely difficult to make the argument that the media doesn’t have power. The media has the power to foster a sense of community amongst people by bringing friends and family together to view a television show. The media has the power to regulate the emotions of individuals by creating fictional characters the average viewer will become attached to. The media also has the power to serve as a representation of the different “types” of people in society. In media platforms there’s usually a clear representation of what it means to be a man, what it means to be a woman, what it means to be a person of color, and what it means to be a person from a particular socioeconomic background. These media representations of different groups and types of people are not always incorrect or negative. In fact, I would argue that media representations are largely positive for certain people. However, the group that seems to consistently get ...

ATHLETE STEREOTYPE AND GENDER, SEXUALITY

By Stella Ahn Athlete represents masculinity. When you think about the popular sport games in America such as football, baseball and basketball, the male athletes will directly come to your mind. As a matter of fact, athlete characters in the films and TV shows are often depicted as jocks; male, strong, aggressive. For example, Noah Puckerman, one of the main characters in Glee, is a football player. He takes a role of typical jock in the show, being aggressive and bullying other students. By constantly showing this kind of athlete characters, media reinforce the stereotype of athletes. If these stereotypes are wrong as previous posts mentioned, are jocks the only victim of it?  Considering athlete as masculine excludes people who have different genders and sexualities. This essay will talk about athlete’s gender and sexuality that excluded from media, specifically women and homosexual. Daniels posed a question (2008) , “If athlete means masculine, where do femininity a...