In the Media Black Portrayals Matter

Father Knows Best is a prime example of how society once viewed the ideal family; The Jeffersons and Good Times were examples of how the media viewed black families. The television audience watched and accepted these early television shows without much consideration for the cultural and racial messages transmitted by these sit-coms. At that time, the impact of media/television upon the behaviors and attitudes of viewing audiences, blacks and whites, was not well researched. The idea that the media was a mechanism through which one’s self-esteem could be validated or devalued, was a shock to the American consciousness.

In Black Portrayals Matter, Ralph Cuffeea Allsopp examines racial stereotyping in the media—from Amos n’ Andy to the rise of the first black superhero; from black actors cast as Presidents to the tragic portrayals of O.J. Simpson, Trayvon Martin, and Rodney King—as well as the psychological effect of black role models on black-white children and adults.