In this speech, the author uses five moments of his own existence to speak to how he thinks the West conceptualizes and depicts Africa and Africans. This involves autobiography in a sense because he used his own life, but the discussion is not about him. It is about western conceptions and representations of Africans as reflected in the following…

Discusses the relative absence of Black and Jewish characters in television programs. Charges that the networks' fear of presenting Jews and Blacks as realistic characters in realistic situations arises from the mistaken notion that the viewing public is uneducated, myopic, and easily bewildered. (GC)

Discusses rape from a social and political viewpoint. Criticizes current literature on rape for perpetuating racist stereotypes and failing to account for the effects of a capitalist economic system on social and sexual relations. (GC)

Examines the treatment of foreign characters in adolescent fiction series of the twentieth century. Numerous examples of stereotypical images, portrayals of foreign inferiority, dialect, and derogatory designations are provided, along with some positive images. The potential impact on adolescent readers is discussed. (43 references) (CLB)

William Shakespeare wrote several plays which depict Jews and Blacks in a very negative, stereotypical fashion. In "The Merchant of Venice," for example, Shakespeare chooses to depict Shylock as Jews were popularly conceived in his era--as cold-hearted usurers and crucifiers of Christ. This is racist doctrine at work, as Shylock is…

This paper discusses challenges and opportunities facing Muslims in the United States, where between 5 to 8 million Muslims live (the fastest growing religion in the country). American Muslims face many challenges, and the public has little understanding of the teachings and practice of Islam. Muslims are prone to negative stereotypes, ethnic…

Because of their racial ambiguity in the United States, Asian Americans have been constructed historically to be both like and unlike Black and White people, and Asian American men have been both hypermasculinized and feminized, just as Asian American women have been both masculinized and hyperfeminized. (SLD)

Reprint of a 1971 article that criticizes the notion of Black matriarchy as implying that Black women actively assented to slavery. Discusses Black resistance to slavery, especially among women, and stresses the importance of recognizing such resistance if current popular sociological views on Black women are to be revised. (GC)

Folk tales, jokes, and other forms of folk culture are used to explore the love-hate relationship between Blacks and Jews and to trace the changes in this relationship. (RLV)

This excerpt from a presentation at the National Council for Children and Television seminar describes the diverse composition of the Black viewing audience and discusses ways Black stereotypes can be broken down, reasons for improving the Black image, and specific strategies television programmers can use to improve characterizations of…

Rehearses some 20th-century narratives as they have appeared in United States history and as they have been represented in African-American literature. Suggests that some of these narratives are insufficiently critical in their construction of stereotypes or in their over-romanticized notions of racial memory, which mask the complications of color…

Early images of African Americans in films determined a pattern that survived until World War II. The role of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in creating new images of African Americans after the war films is profiled. Although changes seem modest, they reflect some social movements. (SLD)

Suggests that acting white and ignorant is the silent killer of educational aspirations for urban blacks, comparing current public figures that appear ridiculous and ignorant (gangster rappers) to Stepin Fetchit of the 1950s. Nineteenth-century blacks never elevated ignorance or vulgarity as aspects of liberation. It is important to determine how…

Along with the rest of the media, the black magazine industry is currently struggling to survive in tough economic times. However, publishers and editors express confidence in their survival because they meet the needs of their readership, needs that are not met elsewhere. (SLD)

Mainstream media in the United States, the press in particular, continue to misrepresent African-American life and culture. Provides specific examples of omissions and neglect in reporting the truth behind news accounts about or affecting African Americans. Unidentified or "reliable" sources in stories about African Americans must be…