African American faces in the media – it’s time for a change

By Charles R. Gray

 

Nationwide (BlackNews.com) — It never ceases to amaze me that characters that portray hookers, pimps, drug dealers, prisoners or any other type of criminal are readily accepted as African Americans by the entertainment industry. It would seem that any role or character that denigrates African Americans whether it is in print or on the big screen is the call of the day. On the other hand if a script or manuscript comes across the desk of an executive that portrays an African American in a positive light these roles and characters are discarded.

Where are the characters with brown faces who are Kings, Princess, Princesses, those who can fly, ride winged horses, or those who carry a magic sword and slay dragons? Of course these characters and roles seemed to be for the most part reserved for those who are of the white persuasion. Is there any wonder that pound for pound white children walk with a greater sense of pride and do better in school than African American children? There is a passage in the Bible that reads as a man thinketh so is he. This would lead one to think what exactly are our children thinking? Maybe, just maybe, they think the way they do because they see themselves and African American adults portrayed in such a negative light. The problem seems to lie in the fact that we leave it up to the powers that be as to how we are portrayed in the media.

The history of Black colleges and universities dates back to 1837 to counter the prevailing practice of limiting or prohibiting the education of Blacks. Even then African Americans knew as a people that if we were to be properly educated we had to do it ourselves. In the years to come between 1837 and 1944 some sixteen Black colleges would rise out of the ground. Because of this factor, even before the turn of the century, Blacks were able to get a quality education. I submit that we as African Americans dictate how we are portrayed in the media, not just in America, but to the world. I don’t mean to preach hate. However, why should we leave it up to a people who have a history of telling our story their way? It is often said that if you want something done right you must do it yourself. The Hispanic community has a watch dog committee whose soul purpose is to make sure they are portrayed in a positive light by the media. We as African Americans should make it our duty to see to it that when it comes to heroes and sheroes in stories and fairytales that our children see the images of themselves.

ATuskegeeAudio.com was founded for this very purpose. As an independent publishing company, its sole purpose is to write, publish and produce books, stories, and fairytales for, by, and about African Americans. All of which show characters with moral fiber and a strong sense of responsibility to family and community. To date there are some eighteen finished books in the genre of fiction and adventure for children and young adults. ATuskegeeAudio.Com’s flagship book is titled The Mushroom People. It has been said that they are the next Cabbage Patch kids.

Charles R. Gray is the founder and CEO of ATuskeegeeAudio.com, a Black-owned publishing company that is donating 50% of all their profits to HBCU scholarships. For more info, email ceo@atuskegeeaudio.com or visit www.atuskegeeaudio.com