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African Americans
Paley Center honors Quincy Jones, Diahann Carroll at black television tribute
By Tre'vell Anderson
(Oct. 27, 2015 | LATimes.Com) - In what seems to be a historic year for diversity on television, increasing the number of people of color in Hollywood continues to be at the center of conversation. Monday night was no different as the Paley Center for Media hosted a Hollywood Tribute to African American Achievements in Television at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Though a celebratory event for the progress the industry has experienced, the event served as a reminder of countless advances still necessary. Read more
Push for diversity in ballet turns to training the next generation
By Gia Kourlas
(Oct. 30, 2015 | The New York Times) - Finally a major New York ballet company has a black swan. Misty Copeland’s promotion to principal dancer at American Ballet Theater this summer put ballet back on popular culture’s map and ushered in a conversation about diversity in ballet. So what now? Classical ballet is still overwhelmingly white, but over the past few years diversity has finally become a priority. Read more
Ava DuVernay expands her company to make more films by minorities
‘Selma’ director Ava DuVernay has decided to expand her distribution company to help make more films for women and minorities who often get ignored in Hollywood. Read more
How 'Black Lives Matter' was blamed for killing of US police officers
#BlackLivesMatter
By Jessica Lussenhop
(Sept. 14, 2015 | BBC News Magazine) - Conservative American politicians and television pundits have increased their attacks on the Black Lives Matter movement. In the aftermath of the killing of police officers, the movement's name has been mentioned as a contributing factor. A look at the Black Lives Matter backlash. Read more
Related Articles
- Black voters aren’t feeling the Bern: Sanders’ problem is bigger than #BlackLivesMatter (Salon | Sept. 13, 2015)
- Social media pressure forces Beverly church to remove Black Lives Matter message
- Recent poll: 'Black Lives Matter' confounds white people
A study on "Black Crime: What do News Media Cover?"
By Charlton Mcilwain, NYU Department of Media, Culture and Communication
When I began conducting the research for this presentation, I asked myself the question, “what amount of news coverage about Black people in the U.S. is crime-related? That question would have been a pain to address up until the recent present. Read more
Fox News’ racism apparent: Putting Black people in prison helped everyone
(Sept. 13, 2015 | Ring of Fire Radio) - Tucker Carlson tried to make the case today that the mass incarceration of African Americans in the War on Drugs have benefited everyone. Carlson was trying to criticize Stephen Colbert for wearing a Black Lives Matter wristband while on air. Read more
“Was his show the right outlet for this message?” said Carlson. “I assume he doesn’t fully understand what Black Lives Matter is – maybe he does.” Read more
Survey: Alternative press still have super-White newsrooms
By Richard Prince
(Sept. 10, 2015 | The Root) - The nation's alternative news media — many of them spawned by the counterculture and devoted to progressive ideas — rate having a diverse staff important, yet "continue to be predominantly white, and if anything, are getting whiter," according to a survey of 37 such media outlets by the Association of Alternative Newsmedia. Read more
CEO Charles King lands Apple Heiress Laurene Jobs as leading investor in multicultural media company MACRO
(Sept. 2, 2015 | Good Black News) - According to Variety.com, former William Morris Endeavor (WME) agency partner Charles King has lined up Apple heiress Laurene Powell Jobs as the leading investor in MACRO, the media company King recently founded to produce content for the African-American, Latino and multicultural markets. Read more
Journalist Roland Martin, model Beverly Johnson and NY Times best-selling author Lalita Tademy headline 2015 National Black Book Festival
(Aug. 25, 2015 | BlackNews.Com) - ournalist Roland Martin, nationally-renowned model Beverly Johnson and New York Times best-selling author Lalita Tademy will headline the 2015 National Black Book Festival (NBBF), held Oct. 22-24, 2015 at Fallbrook Church (Gymnasium) in Houston, Texas. Read more
Jackson Free Press: Stop vilifying Black teens, explore roots of crime
(Aug. 28, 2015 | Jackson Free Press) - Television newscasts and newspapers often bombard viewers and readers with reports about black teens committing crimes and being a nuisance to society. Media coverage often vilifies, and stereotypes, minorities when discussing crime, showing confusion about motives. Read more
Study finds Asian men, black women underrepresented in magazines
By Erin Zagursky
(Aug. 26, 2015 | Phys.Org) - Although publications in recent years have been paying closer attention to diversity, gender stereotypes related to race are still apparent in the pages of U.S. magazines, according to a recent interdisciplinary study conducted by William & Mary faculty and student researchers.
Led by Professors Joanna Schug and Monika Gosin, the researchers examined photos in six popular, American magazines and found that Asian men and black women were underrepresented, potentially due to stereotypes that associate femininity with Asian people and masculinity with black people. Read more
Black journalists matter
By Busani Ngcaweni
(Sept. 1, 2015 | News 24.Com) - It’s going to take a collective effort to liberate black journalists from their apartheid point of reference.
This effort will have to include the transformation of ownership and control structures of the mainstream media to free our scribes from the economic blackmail that threatens their livelihoods and makes them mere conformists with no original pro-African story to tell. Read more
Black Colleges Matter
(Aug. 27, 2015 | Newsweek) - August 18 brought us yet another article claiming that Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are doomed and will all be gone soon, save a few. This time the author is Alexander Nazaryan and the media outlet is Newsweek. Read more
How Black reporters report on Black death
(Aug. 25, 2015 | NPR) - On an unbearably hot August afternoon last summer, I was walking along West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, Mo., notebook in hand, when I ran into two good friends who were also on the clock, Joel Anderson of BuzzFeed and Jamelle Bouie of Slate. A few nights later, we got dinner with a couple of other black journos from D.C. Read more
Your new Marvel superhero is an African American girl with a T-Rex best friend
By Jess Denham
(August 17, 2015 | Independent) - Marvel wasn't having us on when it pledged to improve diversity in its comics - the newest series will follow the adventures of an African American girl and her T-Rex best mate.
That's right, pre-teen whizz kid Lunella Lafayette has teamed up with the big red dinosaur from Jack Kirby's 1978 cult favourite Devil Dinosaur, but this time she's a contemporary genius instead of a hairy, blue ape-boy. Read more
NY Times executive editor regrets use of ‘Slave Mistress’ in Bond obit
By Sheryl Estrada
(Aug. 24, 2015 | DiversityInc.) - The New York Times published an extensive obituary last week on the life of civil rights icon Julian Bond, who died on Aug. 16. However, there is a use of language in a sentence that offended many readers. Read more
NABJ statement on Washington Post's Wes Lowery trespassing charge while covering Ferguson
(Aug. 10, 2015 | NABJ) - The National Association of Black Journalists expresses concern with the decision by prosecutors in St. Louis County, Mo. to charge Wesley Lowery of The Washington Post with trespassing and interfering with a police officer.
The charges stem from an incident that took place as Lowery, 25, was in Ferguson, Mo. in 2014 to report on the shooting death of Michael Brown, a black teen, by a white police officer. Read more
Related Article:
- Washington Post reporter charged with trespassing, interfering with a police officer (Aug. 10, 2015 | The Washington Post)
Twitter employs only 49 African Americans despite diversity pledges
(July 1, 2015 | The Guardian) - Twitter employs just 49 black people out of a total US workforce of 2,910. The tiny number of African American staff – 35 men and 14 women – represents just 1.7% of Twitter’s US staff. Read more
Shooters of color are called ‘terrorists’ and ‘thugs.’ Why are white shooters called ‘mentally ill’?
By Anthea Butler
(June 18, 2015 | The Washington Post) - Police are investigating the fatal shooting of nine African Americans at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., as a hate crime committed by a white man. Unfortunately, it’s not a unique event in American history. Black churches have long been targets of white supremacists who burned and bombed them in an effort to terrorize the black communities those churches anchored. Read more
Related Article:
- Thugs and terrorists have attacked Black Churches for generations (The Atlantic | June 18, 2015)
"Social media highlighted the contrast between arresting a white man who shot nine people and a black man for selling cigarettes"
Related Article
- Officials say Charleston shooter confesses to ‘Race War’ (DiversityInc.)
Throw away the script: How media bias is killing Black America
By Kirsten West Savali
(June 2, 2015 | Root.Com) - Media injustice, which leads to both the erasure and criminalization of marginalized communities, has had dire consequences for both the psyches and lived experiences of black people in the United States since at least the 18th century, when newspapers ran lost-and-found ads for runaway slaves. Read more
Black Film Festival shifts focus to Web an option for growth
By Luqman Adeniy
(June 12, 2015 | Associated Press) - As scrutiny continues over diversity in film and opportunities for African Americans in Hollywood, some black actors and producers are looking to another avenue where they see growth — the Web. Read more
Larry Wilmore rips Fox News’ tone-deaf coverage of McKinney cops violently breaking up pool party
By Travis Gettys
(June 9, 2015 | Raw Story) - Larry Wilmore ripped “Fox & Friends” coverage of a Texas cop breaking up a pool party by throwing a black teen to the ground and chasing others around at gunpoint.
He showed a video clip Monday on “The Nightly Show” of anchor Brian Kilmeade segueing from disturbing video of the police brutality case in McKinney to Jerry Seinfeld’s complaint about the “PC police” making college campus tours undesirable for comedians. Read more
Related story:
- Bill O'Reilly: 'Hysterical Media' Fueling Anti-Cop Sentiment (June 11, 2015 | NewsMax)
Essence: 5 code words the media needs to stop using to describe Black people
By Jolie Doggett
(April 29, 2015 | Essence) - We hear it almost every time we turn on the news: "Urban," "Thug," "Inner-city." But what's the hidden meaning behind these words? These phrases have become the code words reporters and news outlets have been using to describe the Black community and it has to stop. Read more
Related Article:
Loretta Lynch: Bridging the Gap Between Citizens and Police in Baltimore (Source: DiversityInc.)
Essence Network: Inga Dyer shares how she conquered the World of Black Media
By Brittney Oliver
(May 17, 2015 | Essence) - You don’t have to be in front of the camera to be successful in the entertainment business. Inga Dyer discovered she could have the best of both worlds thanks to her dad’s career advice. After earning a law degree and networking her way to coveted positions at several Black-owned media companies . . . Read more
Dianne White Clatto, the first African American weather woman, passes away
(KSDK.Com) - The NewsChannel 5 family has lost one of its own tonight. Long-time anchor and weather person Dianne White Clatto died today.
White Clatto started at KSDK TV in 1962. She was the first African-American female to present the weather -- not just on Channel 5 -- but at any television station in the country. Read more
High School principal recants apology for racially charged public meltdown
By Shaya Tayefe Mohajer | Takepart.com
(May 12, 2015 | Yahoo! News via TakePart.com) - The only thing that's really clear from a video that went viral last weekend is that students of TNT Academy in Stone Mountain, Georgia, didn't get the uplifting high school graduation ceremony they'd hoped and worked for. Read more
Ending the myth of absent Black fatherhood
By Michael Nam
(May 15, 2015 | DiversityInc.) - In 2013, the CDC released its National Health Statistics Report data regarding the involvement that fathers had with their children. Interestingly, the report showed that Black fathers were often more engaged with their children than their white and non-white Hispanic counterparts – countering many of the myths surrounding them as absent parents. Read more
How to raise a black son in America: A TED talk by Clint Smith
March 2015
Journalists grade race-based media coverage: Walter Scott, Michael Brown discussed at Al Sharpton's Civil Rights Convention
By Aaron Morrison
(April 10, 2015 | International Business Times) - It’s been five months since the civil unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, drew hordes of journalists and TV crews to a small Midwest community that literally burned with rage during protests over the death of an unarmed black man. But in the ensuing news coverage, the performance of media outlets was up for debate Friday at the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network convention in New York City, during a panel discussion of how race is tackled by the media. Read more
Black ex-soap opera star sues CBS with retaliation charge
(Feb. 13, 2015 | Associated Press via Yahoo! TV) - Former soap opera actress Victoria Rowell has sued CBS and producers, saying they have kept her off the air as retaliation for advocating the casting of more black people.
The 55-year-old Rowell, who's black, is best known as a star of "The Young and the Restless" for 17 years. She played Drucilla Winters, an illiterate thief and prostitute, who, at Rowell's urging, "transformed herself through an adult literacy program into a positive figure," according to the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan. Read more
BET Networks delivers more African Americans each week than any other Cable Network
(April 23, 2015 | Business Wire) - BET Networks announced its upcoming programming schedule for BET and Centric at its annual Upfront presentation. BET Networks’ 2015 slate features more original programming hours than ever before in the history of the network, anchored by high quality scripted and reality shows, star studded tentpoles and original movies that reflect and celebrate the lives of African American adults. Read more
Black Press still pleading the cause for African Americans
By Edna Kane-Williams
(April 26, 2015 | AARP Blog) - Growing up in Philadelphia, I remember my father always stopping at the corner store for a copy of the Philadelphia Tribune, our black newspaper. It was my go-to source for school papers and other projects. You could always find it on the coffee table of our home and at the homes of many of our neighbors.
Today, the advent of social media, phone cameras and 21st-century technology are often credited for the exposure of police shootings of unarmed black men and other social injustices, especially those caught on tape. But black newspapers deserve a lot of credit for historically leading the way for social justice in America. Their role often goes unheralded. Read more
Former hip-hop journalist named new White House social secretary
By Darlene Superville
(April 18, 2015 | The Grio) - A former hip-hop journalist who became a White House intern in her 30s was named on Thursday as the new White House social secretary. Read more
Questioning the Black male experience in America
By Shereen Marisol Meraji
(April 27, 2015 | KUNC) - How would you like to be remembered, in a word or two? That question was posed by a black man and answered by other black men in a multimedia art project called "Question Bridge: Black Males."
Some of the answers to that query included "warrior," "sincere," "motivated," "dedicated," "family-oriented" and "father." Read more
Black is the new Black: ‘Empire,’ ‘Black-ish’ success puts diversity on TV’s must-have list
By Itay Hod
(March. 24, 2015 | The Wrap) - Thanks to changing demographics and rising minority incomes, programmers are expanding their palettes.
For years, conventional wisdom in the television industry dictated that having more than one minority-driven show was risky business.
But this year, it could be said that black is the new black. The television landscape is going through a sea change, ignited by viewers’ evolving tastes, the nation’s shifting demographics, advertisers’ designs on an ever-growing minority population and something called “Black Twitter.” Read more
Related Article:
The Shonda Effect: 16 shows that champion diversity (The Wrap | March 24, 2015)
Shonda Rhimes blasts Deadline diversity article as ‘ignorant,’ Twitter outraged
(March 24, 2015 | The Wrap) - Article on pilot season says that too many white roles are being changed for actors of color. Twitter says: WTF?
Television powerhouse producer Shonda Rhimes blasted an article posted on Deadline Tuesday, saying television casting has become too ethnically diverse this season, calling the piece by Nellie Andreeva “ignorant.” Read more
Related Articles:
- ‘Empire’ under fire: Black scholar on CNN calls show ‘Ghettofied’ ‘Coonery’
Black women's progress collides with media stereotypes
Ariel Cheung
(Feb. 11, 2015 | Guampdn.Com) - Not to rip off Charles Dickens, but 2014 was definitely one of those "best of times, worst of times" scenarios for black women in pop culture. Ava DuVernay (Selma) was the first black female director nominated for a Golden Globe, but she lost out to Richard Linklater for Boyhood and then was snubbed for an Oscar nomination. Read more
The tears of a black mother
By Dennis J. Freeman
(June 19, 2015 | News4usonline.com via New America Media) - Tritobia Ford, mother of Ezell Ford, the mentally ill man who died during an altercation with LAPD officers, is comforted during the “Black Mothers Standing in the Gap” event that was co-sponsored by Congresswoman Maxine Waters and the Black Women’s Forum. Read more
Univision buys leading Black news site The Root
By Carolina Morano
(May 22, 2015 | The Huffington Post) - The Root has a new home to grow in.
Hispanic media juggernaut Univision Communications Inc. bought the site from Graham Holdings Co. for an undisclosed amount in a deal announced Thursday. Univision hopes the acquisition of the leading black news site in the country will help expand their audience as demographics in the country continue to shift. Read more
Black athletes stereotyped negatively in media compared to white athletes
(June 2, 2015 | EurekAlert) - Research has shown that media, such as television and video games, can affect viewers' thoughts and actions. Now, new research by Cynthia Frisby, an associate professor of strategic communication in the University of Missouri School of Journalism, has revealed racial stereotyping in the way media portray athletes. Frisby found that media stories on African-American athletes focus primarily on criminal actions while stories about white athletes are overwhelmingly positive. Read more
Related Article:
- Report: Little diversity found in sports departments (June 10, 2015 | Fox Sports)
Juneteenth: 150 years ago, Black America got its own independence day
By Laura Saunders Egodigwe
(June 19, 2015 | The Root) - In 1865, enslaved Africans on Galveston Island, Texas, had been declared free two years earlier but didn’t know it. With the United States still divided over the institution of slavery and recovering after the Civil War, members of the Confederacy weren’t eager to spread the word. Read more
Paley Center for Media hosts a star-studded tribute to blacks on TV
By Frazier Moore
(May 13, 2015 | Associated Press via News1130.Com) - When Oprah Winfrey was a youngster, the mere sighting of an African-American on television was occasion to alert all the neighbours, she recalled. Read more
Wandering eye: Hydrogen cars, food media's lack of coverage on black chefs, and more
(May 13, 2015 | City Paper) - The senior police officer involved in the Freddie Gray case had his gun taken away for erratic and threatening behavior and tried to get his ex-girlfriend's husband "locked up" just weeks before the Gray incident, according to The Guardian newspaper. Read more
NABJ honors Belmont University's Dr. Sybril Bennett as hournalism educator of the tear
(May 26, 2015 | NABJ) - The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is proud to announce the selection of Dr. Sybril Bennett, Professor of Journalism at Belmont University, as the association's 2015 Journalism Educator of the Year. The award recognizes the service, commitment and academic guidance of an outstanding journalism teacher, professor or educator who has helped increase the number of black journalists in newsrooms. Read more
State of Black America 2015
Natinal Urban League releases the report
(March 23, 2015 | National Urban League) - The State of Black America, the National Urban League’s seminal annual publication now in its 39th edition, has become one of the most highly-anticipated benchmarks and sources for thought leadership around racial equality in America across economics (including employment, income and housing), education, health, social justice and civic engagement. Each edition of the State of Black America contains thoughtful commentary and insightful analysis from leading figures and thought leaders in politics, the corporate arena, NGOs, academia and popular culture. Click HERE to download the report
An Oscars Moment Shines Light on History of ‘Most Incarcerated Country’
By Dan Brekke
(Feb. 23, 2015 | QKED News) - In an Oscars night marked by political statements and pleas for social justice, a singer-songwriter’s brief remarks provided the sharpest jolt. While onstage with rapper Common to accept the Oscar for best original song (“Glory,” from “Selma”), John Legend said . . . Read more
Larry Wilmore’s The Nightly Show is the Black Talk Show we’ve been waiting for
By Genetta M. Adams
(Jan. 27, 2015 | The Root) - Last week, Larry Wilmore—host of Comedy Central’s new late-night gig The Nightly Show—began his monologue with this: “Man, all of the good bad-race stuff happened already. Seriously. There’s none left. We’re done.” Read more
Related Story:
MSNBC's Sunday Shows In 2014: MHP Remains Most Diverse While Up Slips (Feb. 12, 2015 | MediaMatters.Org)
Nickelodeon celebrates Black History Month through multiplatform partnership with Because of Them , We Can™ Initiative
(Feb. 10, 2015 | Yahoo! Finance) - Nickelodeon is partnering with the Because of Them, We Can™ initiative to commemorate Black History Month through a campaign launching today across the network’s multiple platforms, including on-air, digital and social. Nickelodeon will air three original 30-second PSAs that feature kids portraying distinguished African Americans, including Maya Angelou, Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X. The PSAs, which were produced by Because of Them, We Can™, will air throughout February and also will be showcased on a dedicated web site (http://www.nick.com/thanks) that provides kids and families with additional information about Black History Month. Read more
Related story:
What is the "Real" Black History (The Root | Feb. 16, 2010)
NewsOne Minute: Interactive One creates digital studio to develop series for "Women of Color"
By NewsOne Staff
(Feb. 12, 2015 | NewsOne.Com) - Many have noted that there is an obvious lack of quality programming that caters to women of color. Interactive One, the parent company of NewsOne.com, is looking to change that. The company has launched a Los Angeles-based digital studio to produce virtual series for women of color. HB Studios has about a dozen original video series that will run throughout the year on iOne’s Women channel. Read more
'Selma,' 'black-ish,' among big NAACP image award winners
By Lynn Elber
(Feb. 7, 2015 | Associated Press) - The civil rights drama "Selma" won top honors at the NAACP Image Awards in a ceremony that took sharp notice of snubs of African-American artists and their work by the Oscars. Read more
Indian man slammed down after caller reported 'black guy'
By Associated Press
(Feb. 13, 2015 | Yahoo! News) - A man from India who was slammed to the ground by a police officer had been singled out by police after a caller said a "skinny black guy" with a toboggan hat was walking in the neighborhood and peering into garages, recordings show. Read more