Race and My Community: The Case of Brooklyn, New York

Paper Summary:

The paper investigates racism with specific reference to the Brooklyn suburb of New York and taking into account the population groups and the manner in which civic leaders react to the African-American race groups. The paper looks at how the media portrays this racial group and finally the writer sets forth suggestions as to how the situation can be improved.

From the Paper:

"Naturally, any commentary on how African-Americans in Brooklyn are perceived leads inevitably to the question of how they portrayed by the local media. I was unable to find local statistics that revealed the number of African-Americans working in management or high-profile positions on local television, but I would have to concur with Kanye West's criticisms in the past that African-Americans are shown in a generally negative light by the media (Gold & Collins, 2005); specifically, there is a predisposition among many in the media to downplay white offenses (like stealing) while failing to do the same for African-Americans. For my part, I have often looked at the local news and puzzled over the fact that so many of the criminals shown on television are African-American - even though I know full-well that Caucasians and Asians are hardly uninvolved in criminal activity. It is this image of African-Americans - especially African-American men - as criminals that cause us to be ignored by local cabbies and passed over for job openings. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Gold, Matea and Collins, Scott. (2005, September 5). NBC deleted Kanye's comments on Bush from telethon re-broadcast. Target Market News: the Black Consumer Market Authority. Retrieved September 14, 2007 from <http://www.targetmarketnews.com/tvandcablenews.htm>
• Griswold, Deirdre. (2004, February 5). Brooklyn cops kill Timothy Stansbury. Workers World. Retrieved September 14, 2007 from <http://www.workers.org/ww/2004/brooklyn0205.php>
• New York City Council. (2007). Contact a council member. New York City Council: Christine C. Quinn, Speaker. Retrieved September 14, 2007 from <http://www.nyccouncil.info/constituent/>
• Shenoy, J.M. (1999, November 6). African-Americans flag down NY cabbies. Rediff on the Net. Retrieved September 14, 2007 from <http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/nov/06us1.htm>
• United Federation of Teachers. (2006, April 13). Brooklyn educators, parents make push for state school aid. New York Teacher. Retrieved September 14, 2007 from <http://www.uft.org/news/teacher/around/Brooklyn_educators_parents/>

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