The Media Portrays African American Males Unfairly

The Media Portrays African American Males Unfairly Educators and parents are very aware that the images children see in the media leave an impression on them. How African American males are portrayed in the media can affect the way African American boys see themselves. Too often the media covers stories that portray African American males as failures and ignore all the progression of African American males in this country. In the last century black males have gone from slaves to become successful business owners, lawyers and now the president of the United States. No other oppressed class of people anywhere else in the world has made such advancements so quickly. However, it is impossible to turn on the news without seeing African American males splashed all over the news being accused of being drug dealers, criminals, and appearing more dangerous and frightening then any other race. What is not covered in the news is that the problems with drug abuse, crime, and divorce is actually a bigger problem for white males. So why would the media want to paint African American males in such a bad light? It doesn’t matter whether people are watching a Hollywood movie or the nightly news, most of the time the drug dealers and drug users are depicted as being African American males. Many believe it is mostly African American males who sell and use drugs. However, nothing can be further from the truth. "Most drug offenders are white. Five times as many whites use drugs as blacks. Yet blacks comprise the great majority of drug offenders sent to prison.” ( Human Rights Watch). One of the many explanations for why blacks are targeted is because it is so harder to point the finger at the dominant power, the white males. It is true that a small percentage of black males do in fact, sell and use drugs. But the media takes this small percentage and blows it way out of proportion. “If [law enforcers] succeed at getting white dealers off the streets there’s no guarantee the public