Jones 1 Jones 7 Kyle Jones Matthew Zimmerman English 102 22 November 2014[Title]: [Subtitle] In 2014, we live in a world with a media saturated culture. This is the era of digital news services, of 24-hour news channels, free newspapers, and even media based applications. For the majority of us, the way in which we learn about the world outside our personal perception is through the consumption of news, mainly still through broadcast or print (OFCOM 2007). Various forms of media has fed the public statistics that created a sense of stereotyping for each particular race. For example, the media and those on film, such as politics and leaders of the government, link together race and crime, which conveys a criminal image of the public’s consumption (St. John & Heald-Moore, 1995). Since race and crime are tied together, when one thinks of a crime, hears about a crime, or when crime is being reported, race is usually associated with it. In the American society, a frequent representation of crime is that it is majorly committed by African- Americans. The view of African Americans has been distorted and twisted by the media. Without question, almost everything that is being covered by the media is believed by most of society and it becomes their actual perceptual reality. Broadcast media and other various forms of media has a history for portraying African Americans in a biased manner, as if they were mostly reported involved in crime, drugs, or acts of violence. This has led to many cases of stereotyping, racial profiling, police brutality, prejudice, inhumane acts and has brain washed most of our society into believing that almost every African American is mischievous or a threat to their well-being. African Americans are unjustly, as well as unrealistically depicted on broadcast news and various other types of mass media. These negative connotations affects more than just African- Americans but also every other culture that exists in America. African Americans have been associated with crime for quite some time. It was not until some in the 1970’s and early 1980s that the popular stereotype of the young black man evolved in the eyes of many from a petty thief or rapist into the notorious , malicious criminal predators, or what Kathery Russel ( 2002) has argued, is the world recognized “ criminalblackman”. Within the last few decades there have been controversial law enforcement practices of racial profiling. Law enforcement officials pursue minorities in an attempt to increase the likely hood of catching illegal activity or the predetermined act of illegal activity, which is part of a consequence from the racial profiling that the media has inflicted upon society. The questionable practices has led to negative effects on blacks. To the African American culture law officials are deemed more criminal or more of a threat than what the media and statistics has condemned blacks to be. The after math, after the many years of harassment, African ...

1. Jones 1
Jones 7
Kyle Jones
Matthew Zimmerman
English 102
22 November 2014[Title]: [Subtitle]
In 2014, we live in a world with a media saturated culture. This
is the era of digital news services, of 24-hour news channels,
free newspapers, and even media based applications. For the
majority of us, the way in which we learn about the world
outside our personal perception is through the consumption of
news, mainly still through broadcast or print (OFCOM 2007).
Various forms of media has fed the public statistics that created
a sense of stereotyping for each particular race. For example,
the media and those on film, such as politics and leaders of the
government, link together race and crime, which conveys a
criminal image of the public’s consumption (St. John & Heald-
Moore, 1995). Since race and crime are tied together, when one
thinks of a crime, hears about a crime, or when crime is being
reported, race is usually associated with it. In the American
society, a frequent representation of crime is that it is majorly
committed by African- Americans. The view of African
Americans has been distorted and twisted by the media. Without
question, almost everything that is being covered by the media
is believed by most of society and it becomes their actual
perceptual reality. Broadcast media and other various forms of
media has a history for portraying African Americans in a
biased manner, as if they were mostly reported involved in
crime, drugs, or acts of violence. This has led to many cases of
stereotyping, racial profiling, police brutality, prejudice,

2. inhumane acts and has brain washed most of our society into
believing that almost every African American is mischievous or
a threat to their well-being. African Americans are unjustly, as
well as unrealistically depicted on broadcast news and various
other types of mass media. These negative connotations affects
more than just African- Americans but also every other culture
that exists in America.
African Americans have been associated with crime for
quite some time. It was not until some in the 1970’s and early
1980s that the popular stereotype of the young black man
evolved in the eyes of many from a petty thief or rapist into the
notorious , malicious criminal predators, or what Kathery
Russel ( 2002) has argued, is the world recognized “
criminalblackman”. Within the last few decades there have been
controversial law enforcement practices of racial profiling. Law
enforcement officials pursue minorities in an attempt to
increase the likely hood of catching illegal activity or the
predetermined act of illegal activity, which is part of a
consequence from the racial profiling that the media has
inflicted upon society. The questionable practices has led to
negative effects on blacks. To the African American culture law
officials are deemed more criminal or more of a threat than
what the media and statistics has condemned blacks to be. The
after math, after the many years of harassment, African
Americans have a feeling of fear instead of protection when law
officials are involved, which have led to many states of
confusions and even violence, in many cases killing one
another, seriously injuring an individual or sometimes
unorthodox actions . For example, Henry Louis Gates Jr., a
Harvard Professor, arrested for exiting his home through his
back door, due to his front door being damaged. Officer
officials received a 911 call about a breaking into at his
address. Louis noticed the officer at his front door. The officer
explained what happened and the 911 call, so Louis present his
Harvard Professor Id and a valid driver’s license, both stating

3. his actual address and that he was the owner of the home. Louis
was still arrested on his front porch and was imprisoned for four
hours in jail for something that was rightfully his own. Another
example, barbers Kevin Gordon, Ronald Jones and Raymond
Barnes sued Riverside County, California, in 2009 claiming
authorities conducted racially targeted, illegal searches of black
barbershops. Law officials invaded private areas without a
search warrant nor any particular reason, only a hidden intent to
find illegal activity being committed with these barber shops. In
2011, they received justice and won their civil case, due to the
unwarranted searches being illegal. These acts are seemingly
what is to be expected but there is a hidden intent behind them
and that is racial profiling and stereotyping.
Statistics
Due to our culture’s information centers or the media, most of
society has viewed African Americans as menaces to society.
The perceptions are due to the many other factors, but mainly
the media’s information, since public knowledge of crime and
justice is mainly derived from the media. One study shows that
blacks are more likely than any other ethnic to be characterized
as violent, to abuse drugs, as and more likely to commit a crime
than whites (Sigelman, & Tuch, 1996). More studies and
surveys convey that whites believe black are more prone to
violence, as in the general social survey in 1990. The belief that
blacks are the source of crime is arguably believed to be the
truth in most cases, further prove that racial profiling will most
likely fall upon a black person than anyone other ethnic group.
These researches only prove that stereotypes of blacks are alive
and well and still existing in today’s society. After accumulated
researches, reviewing the information provided by the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation, more arrest fell under whites
more than blacks. Many of the statics outweigh the black
community vs the white community, but according to statics and
how information is twisted by the media it is still believed that
blacks are more likely to commit a crime than whites or anyone
else, and more likely to be arrested. All of these acts and statics

4. lead to the another factor black Americans suffer with the most,
which also plays a role from the racial profiling and
stereotyping, and that is punishment due to crimes committed.
Punishment and judgment delivered by the law have seemed to
be somewhat unjust when it comes to African Americans.
Studies on race and sentencing have shown that blacks, mainly
black men, are sentenced more severely than any other ethnic
group (Maur, 1999). Research on the treatment of the
defendants in court show that prosecutors sometimes take
advantage the racial stereotypes by generalizing blacks as
discriminately prone to violent criminality, thus resulting in
higher convictions rates (Higginbotham, 2002). These practices
are still continuing for these related cases because of the
outcomes being a positive on their end, the well-being of
another side is none of their concern. This is another twist, once
the public sees such a large amount of those convicted and
sentenced by the court house are black, the message that is
being subconsciously delivered is that blacks and crimes are un-
doubly true and closely related. Thus, contributing to the
factors of racial profiling and stereotyping, while trials
involving whites are more lenient and flexible with sentencing.
With cases and actions proceeding as they are now in society,
another stereotype has risen from the twists of information and
trials. The stereotype that every black man is most likely to go
to prison.According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, one in
the black men can expect to go to prison in their lifetime. This
is true because blacks have a disproportionate amount of
involvement with officer officials, it only takes common sense
to realize, since blacks are mainly targeted suspects it is only
the result of the pursuit of blacks. Statics are completely bias
and common sense is not commonly found in the involvement of
statistic numbers, because of these numbers or I would say
planned acts, black Americans have a harder time advancing to
a higher state of consciousness, when many actually want to
succeed in life.

5. The media is a direct window for viewing all acts of racial
profiling, stereotyping, criminal justice system, and the
portrayal of African American involvements in these systems.
The media has the power to aid or construct the meaning of race
in society, so it is obvious that they play a significant role in
defining blacks of America as criminals or worst, which is
presented to viewers and readers. Research on the media
influence as shown that blacks are more likely to appear as
criminally threating on local news and television, suggesting
that this may aid in the comparison of threat in relation to
blacks (Chiricos & Escholz, 2002). To the audiences who are
mildly informed usually give into these types of media. There is
a point where the viewers tend to become what they hear or see
in the media. They begin to characterize most of the blacks of
Americas just as depicted from the information given to them by
the media. Malcom X once said “The media's the most powerful
entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent
guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power.
Because they control the minds of the masses”, Malcom X’s
quote was as accurate as could be. The masses the media
controls believe the depictions of blacks in America are entirely
true.
There are many sources that attribute to racial profiling and
stereotyping. America is too diverse of a country to have hatred
between one another, especially with a race matter. There have
been many cases of violent acts or unreasonable actions that
could have been prevented if the system was focused on
equality instead of segregating individuals. Crime has no color,
it has no age, and it targets everyone. I do not believe in the
system that has been instill in the minds of many Americans and
nor do I support anything that advocates it. The lives of
children and adults have been lost due to these stereotypes and
profiling. The life of Travon Martin and Mike Brown have been
targets and victims of these accusations. These were very
sensitive cases that have caused a divide once again between
both black and white but in some cases people have drawn

6. closer together into noticing acts of this manner is wrong. There
are more things in jeopardy other than the wellbeing of
another’s mind; eventually society itself will be against one
another in a racial war that would never end. There is always
tension between people, it is as if we cannot talk about topics
such as these because a possibility of upsetting one of the two.
The media feeds both sides with rage, so there is always one
side of a story that will only be accepted by the consumer.
Objections to either sides of the stories lead to conflicts, which
people tend to stay away from these delicate topics. This is
where the subconscious attack takes place separating our minds
from each other. To advance and to be educated both sides have
to come as one to truly understand the effects of racial profiling
and stereotyping.
Works Cited
, FirstName. Title of the Book Being Referenced. City Name:
Name of Publisher, Year. Type of Medium (e.g. Print).
LastName, First, Middle. "Article Title." Journal Title (Year):
Pages From - To. Print.