Over the past 40 years, black support for Democrats has been unwavering but is that support deserved? (Stats on Black Support for Democrats) Although Democrats claim to be “Champions of Civil Rights,” it has been Republicans that have submitted and helped pass most of the early important Civil Rights legislation. (Republicans and Civil Rights) In today’s world, Republicans view African Americans as equals and do not believe blacks should be pitied or brainwashed into thinking they cannot succeed without help from others. That is the true meaning of equal rights. The media portrays Republicans as Neanderthal Closet Klansmen yet they do not implement the same policies for diversity in their own newsrooms even though predominately liberal minded individuals run those newsrooms. (Stats on Media Bias) Television has seemingly made it a policy to portray blacks as uneducated ghetto comics, sport stars, or criminals. If African Americans are wondering why some whites have a false image of blacks, they should look no further than their own TVs.

For the most part, the portrayal of blacks on television has been stereotypical. Blacks were portrayed, during the early days of television programming, as idiots on shows like Amos N’ Andy or dimwitted but loving servants on The Beulah Show. CBS refused to cancel Amos n’ Andy ignoring critics that felt the show portrayed blacks in a derogatory manner. The Nat King Cole Show aired on NBC from 1956-1957. Due to pressure from the network to play to a more white audience, Cole canceled the show prematurely. Julia, a sitcom that ran from 1968-1971 on NBC featured a widowed mother, trying to raise a son while working as a nurse. One element of the show would become a serious and frequent problem in the black community: the lack of a father as a role model and integral part of the black family. (Single Head of Household Stats) This trend continued throughout the 1970’s with What’s Happening, Good Times, and That’s My Mama all without a strong African American male influence in the form of a father. Good Times initially had John Amos as the father but eventually killed him off.

The Jeffersons had the angry, bigoted, George Jefferson spewing hateful one-liners without offering much of anything with substance. Diff’rent Strokes had Willis and Arnold, orphaned by the premature death of their housekeeper mother. Again, it is the fatherless black kid, mom works as a (fill in your favorite domestic service) theme for that show. Sanford and Son portrayed blacks as often dishonest and lazy. Fred and Grady always seemed to be looking for the path of least resistance or at least, the path of least effort. Lamont would dream of better days ahead, never quite making it, and always looking for that next get rich quick scheme that would finally make him a big shot. Webster was another example of the orphaned black kid, adopted by a rich white family concept. In 1981, television produced Gimme A Break! which gave us another black woman as a housekeeper. Remember, this show debuted in 1981, 17 years after the passage of (The Civil Rights Act of 1964) and yet all the sitcom producers could come up with was another servant role. Why doesn’t Hollywood give portraying blacks as ghetto idiots a break?

In 1984, The Cosby Show was a breakout sitcom for African Americans, showing a black nuclear family with manners, class, and dignity. While initially hesitant about the viability of the show, NBC eventually agreed to make six episodes. The show was third in the ratings during its first season and easily took first place the next four. The Cosby Show was beloved by blacks and whites, yet it and other programs like it, were not generally the types of shows that TV Executives green-lighted for production. Other shows from the 80’s with a positive image included A Different World, a Cosby spin-off about life at a historically all black university and Tim Reid’s Frank’s Place, a show that explored topics that focused on real world issues that affected blacks.

Throughout the nineties, black television regressed to the stereotypical fool roles. There were a few quality shows like ROC but many of the black stereotypes from past generations made unfortunate comebacks. In 2001, The Bernie Mac Show won over audiences with humor and common sense parenting. Unafraid to go against politically correct parenting standards imposed by people who probably shouldn’t be having kids, Bernie Mac delivered and still delivers the goods. It is interesting to note that the same people that think smoking on screen is an absolute sin and a bad influence seem to have no problem with blacks acting like complete fools on television as long as the foolishness produces high ratings.

The media, which is predominately liberal, has been no friend to Black Americans. (Liberal Media Stats) When was the last time any of the cable news outlets or ABC, NBC, CBS covered a story on a missing black child? Why is it always, with some exceptions, a blond haired, blue eyed, white girl? If the liberals in the media are so concerned with blacks, why don’t they start covering blacks the same way they cover whites? Newsrooms across the country could show the good, the bad, and the ugly side of Black America not just black athletes, rappers, and criminals. What is also a concern is the bigoted portrayal of blacks and Affirmative Action. One might get the idea that blacks are completely stupid and just cannot make it without whitey even though there are highly intelligent black professionals in every industry. The media along with their partners in The Democrat Party seem to be more concerned with keeping blacks down and maintaining a voting block then allowing blacks to prosper and possibly vote for someone other than a Democrat. Consider some of these facts. According to the book, The Black Image in the White Mind: Media and Race in America reported that black criminals are four times as likely to have their mug shot shown on TV than white criminals are. Black defendants are shown being restrained twice as many times as white defendants.

According to sampled newscasts in the previously mentioned book, the number of sound bites on foreign affairs by whites was 99 while only 1 was by an African American. The number of sound bites on economics by whites was 86 and while only 1 was by an African American. The number of sound bites on electoral politics by whites was 79 while African Americans had none. The number of sound bites on sports and entertainment by whites was 35 and 11 by African Americans. The number of sound bites on crime by whites was 149 while 24 were by African Americans. It is obvious from these statistics that blacks are considered more qualified to report on entertainment and/or crime and not as qualified to speak about foreign affairs, economics, and politics.

The hiring practices of the media are suspect as well. According to the 2003 RTNDA/Ball State University Annual Survey, in the Broadcast News Workforce, Caucasians represented 81.9% and African Americans represented 8.4% down from 10.1% in 1994. The same study also noted that the overall minority workforce in broadcasting had dropped 18% in 9 years with only women making strong gains. Black Broadcast News Directors also showed a decline in 2003 and made up less than 1% of overall Broadcast News Directors. Minority General Managers for all television stations with news departments came in at a miniscule 3.6%. Minority News Directors for Local Television represented a meager 6.6%. Compare that to 18.1% of minorities in the Broadcast News Workforce. Apparently, the media feels it is OK to chastise corporations about diversity but does not hold itself to the same philosophy.

I challenge television and the mainstream media to stop stereotyping blacks and to make their newsrooms colorblind. There is no reason why one of the most liberal industries on the planet should have such a lousy record of accomplishment. With the pathetic state of television and journalism, adding qualified minorities to key positions can only improve things. If these ideas are not seriously addressed, Hollywood, TV, and Network News will continue to see their ratings slide.