The media must play its part or the black family will continue to be hindered by beliefs that are held by some and advanced through media outlets until they are held by many others. This is unfortunate, but black people today must work with the media when it will advance their cause, and work against the media when there are difficulties that will hold up their advancement.
With the economy in general very poor right now, many black people will have trouble finding jobs that are as high paying or secure as the jobs that they might have had in the past, and they will also be competing with many white people who are looking for jobs in a world where discrimination is often subtle but still very real. This will present many difficulties that many of these people did not think they would have to worry about, and many of them will blame the media in some way. There are still businesses that view blacks as very important, however. One of these, a radio station in Tennessee, caters to blacks in many ways.
This station pays attention to the kind of music and the kind of news that black people are assumed to want to hear, because they recognize the significance of the fact that blacks have spent about $12 in Tennessee in 2002. This was despite the fact that blacks in Tennessee had a higher-than-average rate of unemployment. They were giving a great deal to the community and spending much of their money in the community despite the fact that the community was not giving much back to them. Media such as this radio station helps the black economy and the cohesiveness of the black family because they show how much blacks can do and they remind the black people of Tennessee that there are those out there that have appreciation and respect for them.
However, they are still also somewhat stereotypical because they cater to black people, who often just want to be treated the...
This can cause undue stress and hardship by again singling them out and making them feel different. It would appear that this is some of the reason why these families tend to stick together and tend to be more egalitarian, because they often do not get that chance in society. Because they are stereotyped they are not always as able to express their true opinions and talk about their goals in the way that they would with someone of their own race or culture, and if they live in an area where there are not that many other black families they might have trouble making friends and getting involved with their community. Naturally they would turn to their family during this time, and the family would do what is necessary to make their lives works and continue to move toward a higher degree of success.
The article has much to offer when it comes to dispelling the myth about the matriarchal nature of black families. The idea that white families might be much more this way, however, is not something that the article is prepared to deal with. That is not the goal of the discussion. The goal is just to show that the idea that all black homes - especially working-class and middle-class black homes - are female-dominated is a myth, and the article has succeeded in doing that very clearly and very well.
Bibliography
Ates, Tommy. Black academia can rise to the next level. 26 October 2003 http://www.beyondmainstream.com/archives/politics/soundoff/so_black_academia.php.
Hong, Seung Hwa. More black women than men in college, journal finds. 25 October 2003 http://www.uwire.com/content/topnews120502003.htm.
Shaw's Broadcasting. 26 October 2003 http://www.wojg.com/station.html.
Ates, 2003
Hong, 2003
Ates, 2003
Shaws, 2003
Hong, 2003
Ates, 2003
