Broadening the Narrative: Systemic Racism Series: Media

Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes

“Media is a powerful tool that has been used time and time again to criminalize people of color. When they demand justice, media releases are often used to perpetuate racial oppression.” - Michael McGee in “Media: Criminalizing the Victim, Acquitting the Killer”

I am continuing in the systemic racism series here on the Broadening the Narrative blog. To learn more about this series, you can read the first eleven posts on the BtN blog. I am learning and sharing as a learner, not as a teacher or an expert. Today’s post addresses systemic racism in the media. I will include the data and history behind the current disparities, provide action steps, and link recommended resources for further exploration and education.

Data

Let’s look at the data for systemic racism in the media.

In “Media Ownership Diversity: A Case Study in the Inadequacy of Anti-Discrimination Frameworks,” the 2014 Ownership Report from the Federal Communications Commission is analyzed. “Though there are undoubtedly many people to blame for the continued underrepresentation and misrepresentation of people of color in the media, dismal media ownership diversity numbers released by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) indicates that the overwhelmingly white television and radio station owners may have something to do with that...in 2013, white men had controlling interest in 87.34% of full power television stations in the United States (FCC, ‘2014 Ownership Report…’). In contrast, people of color own only 5.83% of full power television stations in total. Disaggregating the data further results in almost laughable statements. In the entire country, only one full power TV station is owned by a black woman. Another one is owned by an Asian American woman. Literally one. In the entire country.” Ownership data is also available from 2017, and it mirrors the data from 2014 in terms of disproportionality.

Chauncey Alcorn reported in the article “Hollywood is more diverse than ever. So why are the Oscars still so white?,” “The USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative's newest annual study revealed that 31 of the 100 top-grossing films from 2019 cast a non-white person in a starring or co-starring acting role. That is a 14% increase from 2018 and a 138% increase from the 13 minority-led films put out during the diversity initiative's inaugural year in 2007...‘In a year that saw a wealth of talent from marginalized communities, both in front of and behind the camera, it is disappointing to see the Academy, and other bodies like the BAFTAs and the HFPA, not recognize their work,’ [April] Reign told CNN Business. ‘[The Academy's] voting membership is still overwhelmingly white and male. So one can't be surprised when the nominations aren't as representative as we'd like.’”

Regarding the publishing industry, André Wheeler wrote, “In the last year the US publishing industry has faced a series of embarrassing missteps over representation and diversity. #BlackoutBestsellerList is just one piece of a publishing industry where only 1% of editors are black,” in the article “Can #BlackoutBestsellerList be the reckoning the publishing industry needs?”

History

To see how we got here, let’s examine the history of blackface and media ownership.

In the article “How the History of Blackface Is Rooted in Racism,” Alexis Clark explained, “Although the exact moment when blackface originated isn’t known, its roots date back to centuries-old European theatrical productions, most famously, Shakespeare’s Othello. The practice then began in the United States in the 18th century, when European immigrants brought the genre over and performed in seaports along the Northeast, says Daphne Brooks, a professor of African American studies and theater studies at Yale University. ‘But the most famous sort of era to think of as being the birth of the form itself is the Antebellum era of the early 19th century,’ Brooks says. Thomas Dartmouth Rice, an actor born in New York, is considered the ‘Father of Minstrelsy.’ After reportedly traveling to the South and observing slaves, Rice developed a black stage character called ‘Jim Crow’ in 1830. With quick dance moves, an exaggerated African-American vernacular and buffoonish behavior, Rice founded a new genre of racialized song and dance - blackface minstrel shows - which became central to American entertainment in the North and South. White performers in blackface played characters that perpetuated a range of negative stereotypes about African Americans including being lazy, ignorant, superstitious, hypersexual, criminal or cowardly...Most of the minstrel show actors were working-class Irishmen from the Northeast, who performed in blackface to distance themselves from their own lower social, political and economic status in the United States, says [David] Leonard. ‘They did it to authenticate their whiteness,’ he says. ‘It was the same as saying “We can become the other and mock the other and assert our superiority by dehumanizing the other.”’...The appeal of blackface declined after the 1930s and into the Civil Rights Movement. However, the negative stereotypes of African Americans and mocking of dark skin have persisted in recent decades. For example, blackface appeared in the Oscars ceremony in 2012, on televisions skits, and wearing blackface to dress up as famous African Americans during Halloween remains an ongoing issue.”

In the study The Lack of Racial and Gender Diversity in Broadcast Ownership & The Effects of FCC Policy: An Empirical Analysis, Derek Turner and Mark Cooper reported, “Historically, women and racial and ethnic minorities have been under-represented in broadcast ownership due to a host of factors -- including the fact that some of these licenses were originally awarded decades ago when the nation lived under segregation. The FCC, beginning with its 1978 Statement of Policy on Minority Ownership of Broadcasting Facilities, repeatedly has pledged to remedy this sorry history. Congress also has recognized the poor state of female and minority ownership. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 (‘The Act’) contains specific language aimed at increasing female and minority ownership of broadcast licenses and other important communications media. The Act requires the FCC to eliminate ‘market entry barriers for entrepreneurs and other small businesses’ and to do so by ‘favoring diversity of media voices.’ The Act also directs the Commission when awarding licenses to avoid ‘excessive concentration of licenses’ by ‘disseminating licenses among a wide variety of applicants, including small businesses, rural telephone companies, and businesses owned by members of minority groups and women.’ The FCC initially appeared to take this mandate seriously. In 1997, the Commission completed a proceeding, as required by the Act, which identified barriers to entry for small businesses (and has been interpreted to include minority- and female-owned entities) and set forth the agency’s plan for eliminating these barriers. Unfortunately, subsequent triennial reports have lacked substance.

In 1998, the Commission further demonstrated its seriousness by taking a crucial first step to determine the actual state of female and minority ownership of broadcast radio and television stations. That year, the FCC began requiring all licensees of full-power commercial stations to report the gender and race/ethnicity of all owners with an attributable interest in the license. In the Form 323 Report and Order, the Commission stated: Our revised Annual Ownership Report form will provide us with annual information on the state and progress of minority and female ownership and enable both Congress and the Commission to assess the need for, and success of, programs to foster opportunities for minorities and females to own broadcast facilities. Other than this monitoring effort, the FCC has done very little to promote female and minority broadcast ownership (and the follow-up on this monitoring has been abysmal). In its 1999 Order that allowed television duopolies, the Commission paid lip-service to concerns about the policy change’s effect on minority and female ownership, but still went forward with rule changes that allowed increased market concentration. In 2004, the Commission sought input into how it could better implement Section 257 of the Act. But this proceeding remains open, and the current chairman has shown no signs of interest in completing this important matter. In the 2003 Order implementing Powell's rule changes, the FCC assured the public that ownership diversity was a key policy goal underlying its approach to ownership regulation. However, the Third Circuit found otherwise, stating that ‘repealing its only regulatory provision that promoted minority television station ownership without considering the repeal's effect on minority ownership is also inconsistent with the Commission's obligation to make the broadcast spectrum available to all people “without discrimination on the basis of race.”’”

To connect back to the information on the Oscars above, I found the article “Black Media Ownership Matters” by Antonio Moore insightful. Moore stated, “I recently spoke to African American media mogul Byron Allen on the issue. Allen, reportedly a billionaire, is championing black-owned media companies by bringing multiple large-sum lawsuits against cable companies that he argues exclude majority-owned African American companies from carriage deals. He settled one suit with AT&T late last year, and recently filed a $10 billion racial discrimination lawsuit against the FCC and Charter Communications. ‘This is the fourth and final chapter of economic inclusion,’ says Allen. ‘Coretta Scott King was a friend, and she said that African Americans have faced four major challenges: ending slavery, ending Jim Crow, achieving civil rights, and gaining economic inclusion.’ Continues Allen: ‘Diversity starts with ownership, it is time for black people to check the numbers. There are two Americas. Blacks are part of the other America that has been excluded from access.’ One recent blow against black-owned media companies came when Bill Clinton signed the Telecom Act into law in 1996. ‘The 1996 Telecom Act was the beginning of the end for Black-owned and Black-formatted radio stations,’ according to the Atlanta Black Star. ‘Backed by President Clinton, the Telecom Act lifted ownership limits and, under the guise of promoting competition in the communications market, ushered in a new era of corporate ownership and deregulation, allowing huge companies to gobble up stations across the country.’ Small black-owned stations were destroyed, virtually overnight.”

Those making decisions within the media are disproportionately white. This isn’t accidental. This is how it’s always been and how white supremacy intends for it to remain. In his book The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Church’s Complicity in Racism, historian Jemar Tisby explained, “If the twenty-first century is to be different from the previous four centuries, then the American church must exercise even more creativity and effort to break down racial barriers than it took to erect them in the first place” (p. 193). Though he was writing about the church, Tisby’s words are applicable to every system in the United States.

Action Steps

Complete additional research on the topic of systemic racism in the media. There are numerous examples I did not address. I will link additional resources at the end of the post.

Have action that follows your research and reflection.

-Support diversity and inclusion efforts in your local newsrooms.

As Suzanne Gamboa reported in “Racism, not a lack of assimilation, is the real problem facing Latinos in America,” “One way to counter stereotypes is through the presence of more Latinos in the media, especially on news talk shows, a goal long advocated by many Hispanics and organizations.”

-Put pressure on the FCC.

“Unfortunately, the solution for this issue can only come from the FCC as they are the ones who have the power to distribute broadcast licenses. Whether they will choose to actually serve the whole public or continue dragging their feet by forcing civil rights organizations to pursue unscientific studies will depend on the amount of attention on the issue by the public (not very much) and who makes up the commission in the coming years (please anyone more friendly than the people right now). As shown by even the limited snippet of data on media ownership diversity, the use of race neutral strategies to promote ownership diversity has not worked. If the public does indeed own the airwaves, the FCC has a compelling government interest and the power to at least steer media ownership towards some semblance of proportionality. Just as the Section 8(a) program of the Small Business Association works to remedy the government’s history of suppressing minority entrepreneurship and to account for current discrimination, a race and gender conscious program would put the FCC on the right track to encourage entrepreneurial spirit among historically underrepresented groups as well as improve access to culturally relevant and sensitive content by communities of color.” from “Media Ownership Diversity: A Case Study in the Inadequacy of Anti-Discrimination Frameworks”

Vote, show up, and engage in meaningful ways to dismantle systems of oppression. Do all of this under the leadership of Black, Brown, Indigenous, Asian/Asian American, and Pacific Islander People of Color.

What to Expect in Future Posts

At this time, I plan to address systemic racism as seen in the military, politics, and the Christian church in future posts. I will give action steps for myself and readers and provide additional resources.

As I look at the Equal Justice Initiative calendar and read it to my kids, I see that every single day conveys at least one injustice, usually based on race. These are past and present injustices, spanning hundreds of years, demonstrating that racism in this country is not simply an individual problem. Rather, racism is a systemic problem, infecting institutions and structures. Further, this problem centers around justice, therefore it's a problem Godde is concerned about, which means I must be concerned. In my opinion, systemic racism is not solely a political issue but also a spiritual issue. I am called to love my neighbor, and one way I can do this is by joining the fight to dismantle systems of oppression so that all people can flourish.

(Resources are linked below.)

Videos to View

“Oscars Still White: April Reign Explains Why ‘Diversity’ Alone Isn’t Cutting It”

“A racism reckoning for the media industry?” with Farai Chideya
“What Is: Blackface” with Kat Blaque
Race - The Power of an Illusion
“How America's Largest Local TV Owner Turned Its News Anchors Into Soldiers In Trump's War On The Media” by Timothy Burke
“Lack of awareness, data hinders cases of missing and murdered Native American women, study finds” by Erik Ortiz
“What We Know (And Don't Know) About ‘Missing White Women Syndrome’” by Gene Demby

"Comedy's History of Using Blackface"

Podcasts (for your listening pleasure and discomfort)

Sincerely, Lettie “Diversity Is Not Inclusion, and Other Thoughts”

That’s Not How That Works “Ep. 68: The basics: justice, equity, diversity & inclusion”