In society today , mass media is considered to have been one of the most powerful leading sources of news stories and content on what is going on in the world.  Mass Media and entertainment are the most used forms of popular culture that plays a noteworthy role when it comes down to shaping and sculpting our perceptions of others. For many citizens of the us, news media is one of the most primary ways that we learn about different people from different places and learn about people who are different from us. The problem though, is that many representations are based on cultural stereotypes, which tend to marginalize and place certain groups inferior to others. The media is considered to be a tool to create and maintain a balanced society which is created by a group of well-informed people, democracy and also a sense of social justice. In fact, the media has a prominent influence on every aspect of human life in modern times Sadly, a lot of the images that are shown and viewed in the media tend to leave long lasting impressions, whether good or bad. Some of these impressions have the ability to leave a negative impact on the viewers. Although the media is a very useful resource, the media has been very destructive to our society and most importantly the African American community. In the media, they tend to over represent black people in a negative light, “most positive Black portrayals have been obscured by media to influence how African Americans may see themselves” (Liang 180). The media has the ability to shape everything from personal viewpoints to criminal justice statistics. African Americans have been impacted the most in today's society. Our former President has been working to evolve this negative connotation of black misrepresentations by challenging traditional and racist notions of perceptions of Blacks through his displays of intelligence and witty sense of humor. 

 

Some people might argue that the media doesn’t directly target one race, culture, or religion Some people would say that negative media coverage is equal regardless of race. According to Juan Williams, from Fox News, he argued that white people think of black people negatively by saying “They think they’re less trustworthy, less patriotic. At some point you’ve got to deal with these root issues." The issue with this statement is that it is untrue. A majority of white people don't think that way about black people. There is a group of white people who do feel that way, but they are not the majority. In a national poll taken in 2012 by the Blair Center, the poll found that only 20 percent of white people said that blacks are untrustworthy. Another example shows research from 1990 to 2008 titled “Whites’ self-comparison to Blacks”, results found that white people’s views of blacks being less intelligent than them has decreased. The small percentage of whites who felt they were smarter seem to no longer feel this way and the decline started in 1990. Yet many depictions of African American continue to focus on the negative, unfortunately, these perceptions are outdated and do not depict the current roles of African American men. Another argument one could use is that although media shows some negative portrayals of black people, black men excelling are right now. This a group who seem to be scrutinized the most but are doing well. According to statistics from the Center of American Progress, 33.9 percent of black men, ages 18 to 24, are attending some form of higher education (Hagler). Black men seem to be doing pretty well despite, what seems like all of news reporting negatively upon them. There are also more black men with Bachelors degrees and the high school drop rate has declined (Hagler).  

 

Although the media does show many negative stereotypes of African Americans, black people are rising above those stereotypes and achieving more now than ever before. African Americans may not be as bad off as the media makes it seem and not all white people believe the stereotypes produced by the media.  Some might say that the recent achievements of African Americans out shadow the negativity of the past and that black people are doing well for themselves. According to statistics from the Pew Research Center about 38 percent of White Americans feel that the US has given blacks and whites equal rights. If everyone has an equal chance and black people are doing better, maybe negative media coverage doesn't create more negative perceptions or barriers for African Americans.  

America is reasonably considered to be the melting pot of the world because the US is a country of immigrants. It is a place where people come from all over to come and build a better life. In today's society, some of the only times people would have the chance to see another race is in the images that they portrayed in the media. Many reasons of racial issues come from learned ignorance and also limited subjection to different races and negative images are the only portrayal that is shown in different sectors of media that's leads to negative perceptions and the stereotyping of a whole race. Also the Lack of positive representation affects people and causes them to limit themselves in the media, they tend to over represent black people in a negative light, black portrayals have been obscured by media. Back In 2012 a professor of political science, Bas W van Doorn analyzed images that ran with about 474 domestic US poverty-related stories in several major news media sources from the years 1992 to 2010.And from this was found black people were overrepresented, appearing in more than half of the images (Van Dorn 113). Since the beginning of Entertainment ex. television, newspapers and radio. Most of these negative images that have been shown in the media is the only depiction seen in different areas of the media that leads to stereotyping of an entire race. Stereotypes are formed based off of our environment and experiences. Some people form stereotypes ignorantly, they don't know much information about people who are of a different background than themselves, most use sources like the media to form an opinion. Here we are examining how the African American stereotypes have negatively impacted the black community .Since the emergence of television and newspaper, exposure of African Americans in television have been limited or even non-existent.  

During early depictions of African Americans in the media and film, the African American actors were only limited to demeaning roles and also cruel depictions of black people. Most of the roles African Americans were allowed to play were demeaning to the race as a whole, also it showed African Americans as being submissive, unintelligent heathens. In the mid-1800s, a new form of entertainment called the “Minstrel shows” began. Minstrel shows were shows that depicted African Americans in an extremely negative way. The actors, would wear blackface, speak ignorantly, and show an ignorant portrayal of African Americans. This type of entertainment flourished in these times because it seems as though this was the main form of comedy in the early 1900s. White people in those times got a thrill out of watching black people make a fool of themselves. They would copy the songs black people sung and their actions to get a roar of laughter. They also exaggerated the physical features of black people, using red makeup all over their lips and around their mouths to represent black people having big lips. There were however, black minstrel performers such as Bert Williams, who became one of the most popular black minstrel show performers. He was a comedian and singer, but at that time blacks weren’t allowed on stage unless they were really talented, this is why Bert Williams decided to perform minstrel shows. This was the only way he was able to showcase his talent, even though the white audience didn’t respect him. Many of the black actors were only assigned to subordinate roles, portrayed as bums, and other negative images that added fuel to the fire of stereotypes that seemed to surround black people in that time in history. Years after his death his name wasn’t linked to anything dealing with success it was stated that “Instead his name became inextricably linked to the demonic history of possession, caricature, slavery, and dehumanization embodied by the form he in fact reinvented and appropriated to subversive effect: blackface minstrelsy.” (Sokei 4). This was the beginning of a poor and negative portrayals of African Americans in mass media that would never go away. Many negative stipulations arose during this time,Several well-known black pioneers spoke out against this. Fredrick Douglas made a statement on blackface and he stated that blackface performers are “filthy scum of white society, who have stolen from us (African Americans) a complexion denied them by nature, in which to make money” (Padgett). Minstrel shows continued in the US up until the 1960s in the US, but blackface still continues all over the world and the negative stereotypes that came with them still haunts African Americans until this today. Some people still believe black people are ignorant, cheap, loud, goofy, all of the things the minstrel shows depicted them as.  

Regardless of any of the negative portrayals that are shown in the media, African Americans continue to make progress and have come a long way and have become very successful and powerful in today’s society. African Americans have succeeded in all regions of life. From becoming athletes, movie stars, and musical artist to becoming police officers, nurses, and other professions. African Americans have excelled in showing that the negative stereotype is inaccurate. Our former president Obama has been working to evolve this idea of negative connotations of black people as being violent, unreachable, erratic, hyper sexual, irresponsible, doggish, thuggish and instead he promotes a thoughtful, well-spoken, brilliant type of swagger. He challenges all traditional and racist notions of perceptions of Blacks through his displays of intelligence and witty sense of humor. Throughout Obamas political term he has had his authority challenged countless times and sometimes those challenges occurred in ways that some would say challenged his manhood. He stated “when you’re running for the presidency you gotta expect it and you just gotta…kinda…,” shrugs his shoulders and continues to be unbothered. Obama promotes positivity, pride and laughter. President Obama was like no other, he takes relevant controversial topics and turns them into comedy. When the former president spoke at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation event he stated “I don't know about you guys, but I am so relieved that the whole birther thing is over. I mean, ISIL, North Korea, poverty, climate change, none of those things weighed on my mind like the validity of my birth certificate” ( Obama's Full 2016 Congressional Black Caucus Speech). When he gave that response he was referring to Donald Trump’s “birther” movement where he found himself attacking President Obama on national television demanding that Obama shows his birth certificate and all of the rumors that he wasn’t actually born in the US. The purpose of these racially motivated comments of him not being born a US citizen was a shot at him saying that his presidency wasn’t legitimate, this was a shot trying to degrade the American dream for African Americans. Obama has had plenty of times when people tested him to get a reaction but he remains not bothered,  President Obama is smart and he  knows, like all Black men know , “they”  are watching  and you have to be twice as good to get half the credit. Obama takes pride in holding himself at a high standard and doesn’t go popping off over issues such as this he just laughs. He remains focused and handles his business accordingly. That’s how you assert that you’re a man, By doing your thing despite their efforts to trip you up.  

 

In Conclusion, Throughout time, Media has portrayed Africans Americans in the most negative way, the media not only help creates barriers to advancement within our society, but also “make these positions seem natural and inevitable” (Donaldson).Black boys and men actually internalize biases and stereotypes and, through their behavior, reinforce and even perpetuate the misrepresentations. They become victims of perception (Donaldson). The perceptions portrayed have caused hurt and humiliation to an entire race of people due to the stereotypes shown in the media and now it’s time for a change. African Americans have undergone years of abuse verbal and nonverbal and media doesn’t seem to help. People have to take the initiative to speak up and say this enough. Media perceptions build barriers against African Americans and it’s time to break those down and show a accurate portrayal of African Americans. African Americans have been under speculation and suffered for years because of this, and them been counted out, and targeted relentlessly and it’s time for a change. 

 

 