Racial stereotypes are more prominent the more they are portrayed negatively because of the media. Using Staples, “Black men in public Space”, Hammad “First Writing Since”, and DuVernay’s “13th” it will help to shine a light on the true impact of racial stereotypes. When people of color are labeled and stereotyped it can allow racism to be spread. It can harm people mentally and can even prevent them from finding stability within society.

The effect of media is detrimental especially when it comes to black men. Since media shows black men as criminals and thugs it causes people around them to fear them. They believe they are dangerous because of what they have seen, black men shooting one another and robbery. If these cases are repeatedly shown a habit will form where they associate the situation with skin color. Staples “Black men in public space” focuses on a young black man and his constant struggles walking home almost every night. As he walks behind white people, they always seem to fear him. They run from him and cross the street to avoid him. To solve this problem, he decides to change himself so that he seems less threatening. As he is walking, he will start to whistle classical melodies like Beethoven and Vivaldi, he’ll give space to people so they can feel at ease and he will walk past them, so they do not think he is following them. “Her flight made me feel like an accomplice in tyranny. It also made it clear that I was indistinguishable from the muggers who occasionally seeped into the area from the surrounding ghetto.” Staples realized that the reason people would feel threatened was because they saw his skin color before they saw him. Even though people have never seen him before they have seen stories on the news of people being robbed and hurt. The face usually associated with these stories most of the time is black people and when an image is repeatedly shown to you; it becomes engraved in your mind. He also realized that skin color has become a symbol. If you have darker skin, society labels you as invaluable and dangerous. If you have fair skin, you are the complete opposite valuable and respected.

The impacts of negative media do not just stop at black people it also impacts people like Hammad’s brothers. Muslim people started to be labeled as terrorists because of what happened with 9/11. Anytime news outlets cover terror situations there is always pictures of Muslim and Arab people with guns. It has been shown time and time again that the media compels people to fear the color of someone’s skin, which has caused hate crimes to be committed. Racial stereotypes disguised as “jokes”, taking off someone’s hijab in public, and even physical assault. “First Writing Since” is a poem written by Hammad that is dedicated to her brothers about their lives after 9/11. “People would ask me if I knew the Muslim hijackers…people would assume that no Arabs or Muslims were killed…we did not vilify white men when McVeigh bombed Oklahoma.” After 9/11, Muslim and Arab people had to face discrimination and blatant racism. People assumed that Hammad was Muslim based on her skin color instead of getting to know that she’s from Brooklyn, New York and has a brother that is in the navy. She is automatically labeled as a criminal. However, when a white person goes out and commits acts of terrorism and crimes, the media sweeps it under the rug. They are shown leniency and the story rarely is broadcasted. This is done to keep up an image that does not exist. Criminals are not just limited to skin color and the media should stop trying to portray it that way. Her brother who is in the navy defends the country that shows him so much hate, it’s ironic. Instead of seeing someone’s skin color, people have been conditioned to believe that it is your skin color that makes you who you are. Tragedies unfortunately happen but media and people must realize that there is not only one specific race that commits crimes.

Negative media light did not just come from nowhere. The hate and stereotypes started back to when white people would paint their faces black and would pretend to be stupid and act like animals. DuVernay’s “13th” talked about a documentary called “Birth of a nation”. The document was seen as a real turning point because everyone believed that it portrayed the United States of America and everything they stood for perfectly. There was a scene where a white woman was running away from a blackface white man who had the intention of raping her and she chose to jump off the cliff and die than be raped by him. During this time, Black people were being hunted down and murdered by the Ku Klux Klan. They were portrayed as heroes while black people were seen as rapists, idiots and invaluable people that were taking up space in the world. This is really no different than the media today. Media in the past has portrayed people negatively for years which has caused todays adults to grow up hating anyone that did not look like them. It’s sad to realize but media outlets are still this way today. They’re selective of what they choose to share. What they do show about black people has been shown the same way for decades that it has become normalized. Since it has been normalized for so long people fail to acknowledge it as an issue. Not all people of color are bad and not all non-people of color are good.

Negative media allows for stereotypes about race to form and be shared more easily. When people of color are seen negatively, they are subjected to hate crimes from people they do not know, changing themselves to appease the people around them, and blatant generational racist beliefs. It is important to acknowledge media involvement with racism because regular news today is connected to social media Instagram and Facebook which spreads news and racism quicker. It also allows people individually to share their opinion with the world. This will be an endless cycle unless the media changes how they portray and deliver news. The same way there are stories about people of color committing crime there is also non people of color committing the same crimes. Give all situations the appropriate media attention and do not subject and dehumanize a race by telling people to watch out and be careful of them. Overall, just be mindful of how your words will reach your intended audience.