The media, such as the news, is known to provide the people the same knowledge that is part of the common sense pool. There it is “filled with historical traces of previous systems of thought and belief structures” (Jiwani ND). In the United States, one of the main leading factors of racism comes from stereotyping African Americans. The mass media seems to continue to execute the way Caucasian Americans portray African Americans as second class citizens through negative activity such as gang violence, drug use, rape, and other forms of behavior. As a result of this problem, this leads a negative impact on the lives of African Americans. With the media, it doesn’t portray significant events in the African American community unless the news shows a negative impact. One example is the Los Angeles riots of 1992. In California, four police officers pulled over an unarmed African American man after he was caught speeding. After a short pursuit, the police believed he was resisting arrest and began to severely beat the man, claiming he was on intoxicated. The video was brought into the media and shown to the public and soon after violence and riots broke out throughout the city. It has been known “police brutality and racial profiling has been a problem” for a while in Los Angeles, “but this was the first time it was caught on tape” (LA Riots ND). During the riots, many buildings and stores were robbed, streets and highways became blocked, and many rioters beat motorists. The four officers involved were charged of “using excessive force” (LA Riots ND). Within the United States, research “has disclosed that most serious crimes” such as homicide, robbery, etc., “in inner cities are committed by a very small proportion of African Americans” (Balkaran 1999). Yet, African Africans are seen as criminals leading to negative stereotyping which could affect their everyday
The media, such as the news, is known to provide the people the same knowledge that is part of the common sense pool. There it is “filled with historical traces of previous systems of thought and belief structures” (Jiwani ND). In the United States, one of the main leading factors of racism comes from stereotyping African Americans. The mass media seems to continue to execute the way Caucasian Americans portray African Americans as second class citizens through negative activity such as gang violence, drug use, rape, and other forms of behavior. As a result of this problem, this leads a negative impact on the lives of African Americans. With the media, it doesn’t portray significant events in the African American community unless the news shows a negative impact. One example is the Los Angeles riots of 1992. In California, four police officers pulled over an unarmed African American man after he was caught speeding. After a short pursuit, the police believed he was resisting arrest and began to severely beat the man, claiming he was on intoxicated. The video was brought into the media and shown to the public and soon after violence and riots broke out throughout the city. It has been known “police brutality and racial profiling has been a problem” for a while in Los Angeles, “but this was the first time it was caught on tape” (LA Riots ND). During the riots, many buildings and stores were robbed, streets and highways became blocked, and many rioters beat motorists. The four officers involved were charged of “using excessive force” (LA Riots ND). Within the United States, research “has disclosed that most serious crimes” such as homicide, robbery, etc., “in inner cities are committed by a very small proportion of African Americans” (Balkaran 1999). Yet, African Africans are seen as criminals leading to negative stereotyping which could affect their everyday