Columns by Dori J. Maynard

Trayvon Martin and the Media Depiction of African American Males

“He’s got his hand in his waistband, and he’s a black male.”

 — George Zimmerman to a 911 operator shortly before he fatally shot Trayvon Martin


When people ask why I do the work I do, sometimes I tell the truth — because I don’t want my brothers shot.

 
  

  

    


  
  	    

      "Black Woman Redefined" Author Sophia A. Nelson Talks About Media Images Today
    

  
  
      

      
          

  
  

	      

    

            

                    Wednesday, July 20, 2011        

        




Yesterday a Summer's Eve ad was the talk of social media networks. Author and media commentator Sophia A. Nelson discusses the ad, black women's images in the media and why she was compelled to write the recently released "Black Woman Redefined".
     


    
 


 

  

  

    


  
  	    

      Chauncey Bailey Project: A Journalistic Collaboration
    

  
  
      

      
          

  
  

	      

    

            

                    Tuesday, June 14, 2011        

        




At a time when two reports are heralding the importance of journalistic collaboration in this age of rapid media transformation, an Oakland, CA jury succinctly made just that point when it convicted Yusuf Bey IV and Antoine Mackey of murdering journalist Chauncey Bailey.
     


    
 


 

  

  

    


  
  	    

      Connecting with the Communities We Cover
    

  
  
      

      
          

  
  

	      

    

            

                    Thursday, May 12, 2011        

        




There is something disorienting about living in a town where the perception and reality of your city are often sharply at odds.


Mention Oakland, CA, and the words may vary, but the response is often the same. “EW!” “I’m sorry about what’s happening to your city.” “That’s scary.” “It’s really been going through a rough patch.” “You live in Oakland? I’m scared to go there.”
     


    
 


 

  

  

    


  
  	    

      Obama, Osama and a New Conversation
    

  
  
      

      
          

  
  

	      

    

            

                    Thursday, May 5, 2011        

        




Last Friday’s Real Time with Bill Maher was playing when my brother’s text arrived telling me that Osama bin Laden was dead.


While much of the rest of the country waited for President Obama to address the nation, I watched conservative commentator Andrew Breitbart echo others calling for the release of the president’s college records and suggesting that he didn’t write his first book.
     


    
 


 

  

  

    


  
  	    

      Reframing the Diversity Conversation 
    

  
  
      

      
          

  
  

	      

    

            

                    Wednesday, April 20, 2011        

        




Lately there has been some discussion about how we can get the issue of diversity in journalism back on the table. Clearly the changing demographics and the growing gulf between journalists and the communities they cover have not sparked a renewed commitment to ensure that our newsrooms reflect our country.


Do we need to rethink how we start the conversation? And, do we also need to revisit our premises to make sure we’re on the same page?
     


    
 


 

  

  

    


  
  	    

      Ring of Fire, Fault Lines and the News Media
    

  
  
      

      
          

  
  

	      
Ever since I learned that I live on the Ring of Fire I’ve been obsessed.  The kind of  “pore over maps, bolt down the furniture, pack up  emergency bags for my car and office, and then wake up in the middle of  the night wondering what else I can do to protect myself in case the  long-predicted earthquake hits” obsessed.
     


    
 


 

  

  

    


  
  	    

      Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the National Conversation
    

  
  
      

      
          

  
  

	      
We are a nation deeply divided, at times unable to agree about anything from the role of government, to the rights of citizens to even whether our president is a US citizen.


But for one brief moment on Saturday, it seemed as if we came together to condemn the violence that took six lives and severely wounded 14 others, including the target, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
     


    
 


 

  

  

    


  
  	    

      Hours Before Rally to Restore Sanity: A Moment Less Than Sane
    

  
  
      

      
          

  
  

	      

The Maynard Institute’s Fault Line Framework is a diversity tool that teaches people to talk to each other with the goal of understanding. Dori J. Maynard, who has been refining the framework, will write a regular feature about living on the Fault Lines. This is her first entry. 


A few hours before the recent Rally to Restore Sanity, the general  manager of a Hampton Inn in Washington, D.C. kicked me out of his hotel,  forcing me to stand on the street to wait for my colleague in 39-degree  weather.
     


    
 


 

  

  

    


  
  	    

      Nelson Mandela and the Gift of Hope
    

  
  
      

      
          

  
  

	      
Somewhere in my house are several copies of South Africa′s 1994 election ballot. When I bought them, I was seeking more than just a piece of history. I was buying hope because they reminded me that the impossible can be possible if we stay true to our course.


By now, Nelson Mandela’s journey from prisoner to the presidency of South Africa, from mere mortal to moral icon, has been told so many times that it almost feels preordained.