Hiding in Plain Sight - Black Men and the Media

It's hard out here for a young black man.

There is so much media coverage focusing on what's wrong with African American male teens that you would think that these young men do nothing positive.

Various media reports tell us 11 percent of African American males drop out of high school before receiving diplomas, the jobless rate for African American male teenagers is more than 40% and a African American 19 year old man is 20 times more likely to be shot to death than his White counterpart.

And now CNN tells about a relationship blog that insists African American men can't find a mate because African American women won't have them if they don't go to church enough.

Reverend Lloyd Farr, pastor of Bethel Tabernacle Baptist Church in Richmond, California, said this just one more example of the negative stereotype this kind of media coverage reinforces.

'I remember when you could turn on the news and they didn't just tell you how many people got shot in Oakland, how many got shot in Richmond,' he said. 'Unless you have something else to bring in its place, that's all the media wants to report.'

Rather than consistently typecast African American men as a problem, he would like to see the media cover the totality of the African American male experience. Without that, others are left with a a distorted view of African American men.

Take the case of Kelly Haynes, 36. Haynes, one of the 89 percent of African American men who have a high school diploma, also has a master's degree in project management and  works as a senior project manager.

He said the media creates stereotypes about African American families that prompt people to be surprised when they learn he is married with four children.

'I had supervisor who told me that I'm an aberration because all my kids have the same daddy. I can't understand why he would say that. All my friends are educated and married and we take care of our children.'

The media could also talk to Steve Perry, another person familiar with success stories. Perry is principal and founder of Capital Preparatory Magnet School in Hartford, Connecticut where African Americans make up nearly 40% of the population. Capital Prep sends 100% of its graduates to four-year colleges or universities.  

'I have a young man who is today a senior in high school and is homeless,' said Perry. 'He wasn't always doing well but he is now. The people at Syracuse University are very interested in him.'

All three men say news media coverage plays a large role in how African Americans view themselves.

Farr said they have to get away from putting mostly negative images of African American men, especially the young ones, on the news. He believes that contributes to many of the problems in the African American community - and society - today.

'If you keep telling a child that he's never going to be anything, never going to do anything positive,' said Farr, ' than he'll say why should I even try?'

http://www.diversityinc.com/cgi-bin/cms/article.cgi?mode=printable&id=7974

http://www.cjcj.org/post/juvenile/justice/do/black/teens/need/more/policing/0

http://survivingdating.com/black-churches-how-black-churches-keep-african-american-women-single-and-alone

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/08/10/black.church.women.single/index.html

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1351

http://campusprogress.org/articles/young_black_and_unemployed/