Beans Wit Attitude: Racism and the Media

Civil rights for minorities have come a long way over the years, but sometimes it seems society will never get over the “racial hill” and treat everyone equally.

It makes me angry, or should I say sickens me, to hear stories of discrimination and hate among groups based on race, gender, sexuality, or any other form of prejudice. While the blame for these empty-headed individuals can be placed on their parents and peers, some accountability must be given to the media.

For the record, I am not saying that the media is bigoted; but its inability to report on certain stories causes stereotypes among people and leads to their ignorance.

Carbondale Councilwoman Corene McDaniel brings the argument to a local level. She says regional media has not given proper coverage to the African American community in Carbondale.

“The main issue is African Americans and the relationship that we have with the police department,” McDaniel said. According to McDaniel, this has been the biggest dilemma facing the African American population in Carbondale for the last eight years, which she has had first-hand experience with.

McDaniel said her son, Leon, came out of an apartment building where a shooting had taken place and the police automatically thought he was the shooter. He was arrested on the spot.

“Leon didn’t do that! Leon didn’t do that!” a victim that had been shot said, but Leon was still taken to the police station.

So if this has been an issue in Carbondale for at least eight years, then the media has given it a fair amount of coverage, right?

Wrong.

“If you don’t want anybody to know about it, you just don’t have to put it on the news,” McDaniel said. “If you don’t have a relationship with somebody that can give you a tip or whatever, it may not ever get to the news, so you can’t blame the media for not covering it.”

McDaniel is being generous. I’m not.

If I am reading this quote correctly, McDaniel is saying that reporters do not cover important news because they are ignorant…and it is okay? Why are they ignorant? Because they do not care.

If reporters cared, they would mix it up with the community and learn these things on their own. Anonymous tips cannot be used for every story. Reporters need to talk to people on the street, go to local barbeques, or attend a church service; they have to understand the people they are writing about.

McDaniel does not give the media free passes for everything though. She is upset with how the media mentions whether a person is “black” or not when reporting a crime.

“It used to be that’s all that was done by the media. They always identified a black person,” McDaniel said. “I thought, ‘how come you said this was a black person?’”

One may argue that this is just part of the description.

“How come a white person isn’t part of the description?” McDaniel said.

McDaniel is right. Often, when an African American is reported for a crime, his or her race will be mentioned. Will it happen every time for a white person? Probably not.

Again, I am not saying that the media is racist, but this shows that the little things make a difference. By mentioning a suspect is black and disregarding it for a white suspect, people will start to think of a black person when they hear the word “criminal.”

I recognize that reporters cannot cover every story, but I will not allow ignorance to be used as justification. Their job is to report on the community and they should treat it like a job. Along with reporting stories, a reporter’s job is to get into the community and learn what the real issues are.

Report the important stories. Show you care. No excuses.