In my high school law class, there was this discussion about if there was some sort of biases when it came to discussing about white people versus black people. Through the news and the newspaper, the black community was categorized more as criminals because they were seen as more violent and passive-aggressive while white people were excused for their actions because they were seen to have some type of mental disorder. The white community had more coverage when it came to their own personal attributes and were obviously shown to be the superior race.
In “Twentieth-Century Ideology Meets Twenty-First Century Technology: Black News Websites and Racial Uplift,” Ava Thompson Greenwell writes an article on how the voices from the African American community starting from the year 1827 has changed from the black press to the black news websites, and how it has become so important for people to voice their own opinions. The “mission” for the first Black newspaper was to “ please [their] cause” (Greenwell, pg. 114), meaning to get rid of a stigma that made African-Americans the minority and to be ignored from the public. When it started to become less popular, there was still this hatred towards the community since “White-owned and White-controlled news media historically have framed African Americans as threats, as burdens to society, and as under serving of special treatment” ( Greenwell, pg.116). There were different pictures of African-Americans but none seem to be positive and there was no light on their achievements.
The blacks news websites takes the original mission of the first Black newspaper and puts their own twist on it. They use the public opinion to discuss about the certain topics that is not being as covered on the media which I find to be the most productive to make readers become aware of the other side of news arguments. They provide a new perspective that includes “what African Americans think about themselves, so they promote more positive and diverse images” (Greenwell, pg. 117). It is their own way to uplift themselves from the daily stereotypes they have to deal with in their own society. What I find to be the most amazing thing about each website is that there is no better race, they bring to light many things that are happening every day including “Black victimization” (Greenwell, pg. 123).
The internet advances those voices that are not being heard, it makes it possible for it to be heard across the country where they do not have to wait days till a newspaper is published and delivered from door to door. They do not have to censor what they say because it is a place for them to discuss what they want without that judgement. With what is going on in this society as of today, these websites are more important because it brings awareness of the racism that is unfortunately still occurring. One person from one state does not only have to hear about what is happening in their community but be able to hear and become apart of a bigger community. It is a place for them since the news only focuses on the stereotypes.
Greenwell, Ava. (2012). Twentieth-century ideology meets twenty-first-century technology: black news websites and racial uplift. Fire!!!, 1(2)(Summer/Winter 2012), pp. 111-138. Retrieved from JSTOR database.