Multicultural relations: articles and analysis

African-Americans in the News

From some of the articles that I have studied, it seems that many articles on the African-American community focus on their problems, on analyzing them and on suggesting possible solutions by which the community can improve its condition.

One of these articles, for example, addresses the problem of HIV / AIDS as it is reflected in the African-American community, suggesting that the best solution may actually revolve around taking responsibilities rather than pointing fingers to the people who are to blame. Taken from the Philadelphia Inquirer and quoting directors from the Black AIDS Institute, the article is keen to point out that "in 2005, AIDS in America is mostly a black disease"

. However, even more worrisome is the perception existing at the community level according to which HIV / AIDS was a white manmade disease, specially created to eradicate and/or control the community. In this sense, the article is portraying beliefs and thoughts at community level on a specific subject: AIDS.

In the same note is an article referring to social security and how the African-American community can benefit from it. The article is scientific, with clear argumentation and a summary of the current situation in terms of social security. Much more ample, it helps show how the market works and what the options are.

Asians in the news

It would not be an exaggeration to assert that the Asian community often appears to be ignored in the news. There are several reasons for this.

First of all, the Asian community suffers from less obvious problems that their Hispanic and African-American counterparts. The Asian communities (Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, etc.) have strong inbounds and correlations and generally prefer to solve their problems inside the community rather than project it in the outside world. This refers not only to financial problems, although the Asian communities are renowned for the help they offer the members when in need, but also to contractual, judicial or personal problems.

Second of all, in many ways, they are still deemed to be the quiet and less "noisy" community of the United States. Because they are not musical innovators or less adapted to the realities of the 21st century culture (including music styles), they are less in the first plane.

News reflecting the Asian community sometimes focus on traditions and cultural events that the community is organizing and how it reverberates on the entire city. An example in this sense is the Chinese New Year.

On the other hand, we should not forget news referring to the Chinese mafia and related crimes, as well as the cultural ties between the Asian community and the place of origin.

Hispanics in the news

According to a study published by the Pew Hispanic Center in Washington

, the Hispanic community is "hugely underserved"

by the media in terms of its appearance in the press. Indeed, it has been shown that the Spanish-speaking population and especially the recent refugees to the United States are not properly represented in the English-speaking media and, most often, the information presenting the Hispanic community is distorted and mishandled.

The reason for this is quite simple and often relies on the newcomers' inability to react and respond to the media aggression. Otherwise, it is also linked to the general manipulation that immigrant societies encounter, as they are made responsible as a crime potential factor, as being the poorest minority group in the United States.