No. 28 - A Brief History Of Our media

Recently Barack Obama won the South Carolina primary by receiving over 50 percent of the vote. The next nearest candidate received only 27 percent of the remaining votes. This is yet another slap to the face of the US media and political pundits who continually espouse rhetoric that is rarely in support of Blacks. When considering this matter we have to go back to our earliest recollection of how “media” has been used to justify one position or the other, and in every case, the justification was for the side of those who wish to gain from Blacks.

So let’s take a moment and remember, shall we…

Slaves were tortured, maimed, and grossly humiliated when they were discovered to be attempting to read. While this was the case, at the same time the religious “leaders” of the day were universally preaching that Blacks were less than human and it was Gods will that we be made subservient to the wills and whims of Whites. Every attempt made by Blacks to gain a truer or more accurate understanding of the realities in the US was met with hatred, deflection, or outright murder.

Come to the Civil Rights era and we know the laws and rules of the land were used to systematically disenfranchise the Black community. From voting rights, to education, to jobs, to community empowerment Blacks were fed unfilled promises and lies, and were disproportionately made to suffer in poverty and with other social ills. The media was used not only to minimize the efforts of the Blacks who did stand their ground, but it was also used to showcase Blacks as charlatans, cutthroats, unemployable, and a burden to society.

Going forward years later and Rap music became the voice of the Black community. The lyrics were powerful in that they gave voice to our struggles for equality and told the stories of injustice and inadequacy in our community. Unfortunately, those whose purpose is to benefit from Blacks - while keeping us down - understood the power their money had on the weak minds of the many who, once compromised chose to rap about how tough they were, or how cool it was to belittle our women. It became en vogue to tote a 9mm and blast your way into stardom – only to have that stardom taken away with time spent in prison, or worse. Here again the media was used to influence the psyche of Blacks not only across the US, but also throughout the world.
And while there were many who spoke up against this nonsense, the masses embraced it.

Now here today we have more of the same. Here today Barack Obama is making history and has gained International renown yet the media continually strives to belittle his accomplishments. On the heels of his phenomenal victory in South Carolina the media has already begun it’s campaign to plant seeds of doubt and distrust in the minds of the masses. All too often we here that polls show other candidates in the lead but I have to wonder whom among us have the pollsters been talking to. Of the many people I’ve spoken to a great percentage are staunch Obama supporters. They see the opportunity his Presidency represents and they understand his running is, indeed, a clarion call that times have changed.

I have a colleague who was in South Carolina with Obama and his perspective is quite different from that of the media (imagine that). He saw first hand how the many peoples of South Carolina were rallying around Barack and making it clear he was their candidate of choice. These people were Black, White, Red, Brown, and Yellow and they are far more representative of America than those who support the other candidates. His experience showed there are many supporters of Barack, far more then the media would have us believe.

So what can be learned from the reality that the organized media engine is bent on doing its part to keep Obama from becoming the first Black president of the United States? What are we to do to insure we are Black Americans are no longer put in the back seats of the engine that is moving towards a better America – even a better world? What has to be our role in combating the lies and manipulation we are inundated with daily?

We have to understand it is our responsibility to remain steadfast in our convictions and not be dissuaded by the rhetoric and positioning of the media. We have to understand the role of media in the present day in more than to inform, but to influence. We have to remember the years of bigotry and hypocrisy that are closely aligned to the media. And we have to know that present day media owes no allegiance to us, but to the corporate manipulators that own the media. Those corporations continue to benefit by keeping Blacks down, taking our money, ruining our communities, and destroying every attempt we make to have a greater voice in this society.

And we have to use our voice to get our people rallied around the candidate who is most like us, and who is currently being treated with the same disrespect and Willie Lynch-ism that has been historically – and is still being – applied to the Black community.