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ALONG THE COLOR LINE By Dr. Manning Marable
Slowly fade to black: The
minority presence in the media
uring the segregation era two
generations ago, African
Americans and other racialized
minorities were effectively
blocked from mainstream me
dia — television, radio and newspapers.
We responded to this media blockade by
establishing our own publications, de
signed for black audiences. Gradually, as
American society became more inte
grated, minorities began to have greater
representation within the media. By
1978, minority owners held forty broad
casting licenses.
That same year, in an etfort to increase
minority perspectives and ownership
within the national media, the Federal
Communications Commission gave tax
credits to radio and television station
owners who sold their properties to Afri
can Americans and other racialized mi
norities. The tax credits permitted the
former owners to defer capital gain taxes
sifinvestment profits were reinvested back
into the broadcast industry. The net
result was an unprecedented expansion
of minority-owned media in the U.S.
Accordingto the Commerce Department,
of the 479 tax credit certificates, three
fourthsinvolved minority ownersindeals
that averages $4 million for a radio sta
‘tion and S3B million for a television sta
tion.
. By the early 19905, Black Entertain
ment Television (BET) reached over 40
‘million households on cable. Two of the
largest minority-owned radio groups, US
Radio Inc. of Philadelphia and Lombard/
Nogales Partners of San Francisco to
igether owned 35 radio stations nation
wide. However, when the Republicans
seized control of Congressin 1994, among
the first targets were minority broad
casters. Initszeal to wipe out all affirma
tive action policies, such as minority eco
nomic setasides, Congress revoked the
broadcasters’ tax credit.
i Even the defenders of the 1978 tax
credit: agreed that revisions in the law
‘were necessary to address abuses. In
stead “they threw the baby out with the
wash water,” declares Pluria Marshal,
founder of the Black Media Coalition. In
only 12 months, media ownership by
African Americans and Latinos dropped
10 percent. US Radio, Inc. and Lombard/
Nogales Partners were both sold
* As of 1995, there were approximately
Are black cops target for whites?
hat started out as a verbal
confrontation between two
motorists at a traffic light
on a Los Angeles street in
v March, ended in the shoot
_ing death of one of the motorists, Kevin
Gaines. Since violent street encounters
are not uncommon in Los Angeles, the
‘shooting might have gotten only passing
mention in the news. But there was a
twist. Gaines was a 10-year veteran of
the Los Angeles Police Department, and
an African American. Frank Lyga, the
motorist who shot Gaines, was also a 10-
year veteran of the LAPD, and white.
At the time of the shooting, Lyga wasin
plain clothes, and on an undercover as
signment. Gaines was off duty. Lyga
claimed that he shot Gaines in self-de
fense when the latter pulled a gun. Ap
parently neither knew that the other was
a police officer. An LAPD spokesperson
called the shooting “bizarre” and
downplayed any possibility that it was
racially motivated.
But many Black officers weren’t so
sure. Gaines co-workers praised him as
a “good officer” and a dedicated profes
sional. Leonard Ross, a 22-year old LAPD
veteran, and president of the Oscar Joel
Bryant Foundation, an association that
represents the Black LAPD officers, was
skeptical of the original version, “At face
value it doesn’t add up. I think a lot of
questions still need to be answered.” An
investigation is pending.
. The Gaines shooting came at a time
when the LAPD still reels from the
Rodney King beating, the racist revela
tions of Mark Fuhrman, the Christopher
Commission’s documented report of rac
ism and abuse within the LAPD, and the
ouster of the LAPD’s first African-Ameri
can chief, Willie Williams (strongly op
posed by the mostly white police union).
The disclosure that there were two com
plaints against Lyga for excessive foree
in 1991 increased the suspicions of some
Black officers that Gaines out of uniform
may have been seen as just another Black
':n::::th ‘after the Gaines shooting,
A Closer Look
If you eliminate minority-controlled media, African
Americans and Latinos in particular may be held
hostage to white sources of electronic information.
In the growing global marketplace of ideas, “white
ness” once again asserts itself to drown out our
voices and interests.
300 broadcast properties owned by
racialized minorities. Out of over 1,200
television stationsin the U.S., minorities
owned 37. Of 4,906 AM radio stations,
about 175 or 3.6 percent were controlled
by minorities. Out of 5,285 FM radio
stations, black and Latinos owned only
118, representing 2.2 percent.
The trend away from minority-owner
shipis troubling for several reasons. Most
Americans — black, Latino, Asian and
Euro-American — obtain their informa
tion from electronic media. Minority
media owners are far more likely to hire
minority reporters and employees, and
to feature programming reflecting mi
nority perspectives. If you eliminate
minority-controlled media, African
Americansand Latinosin particular may
be held hostage to white sources of elec
tronic information. In the growing glo
bal marketplace of ideas, “whiteness”
once again asserts itself to drown out our
voices and interests. -
A similar situation exists in television
news. According to a survey of 50 televi
sion stations completed by the Rocky
Mountain Media Watch, blacks and
Latinosaresstill largely underrepresented
in television news rooms. On the 50
stations selected, African Americansrep
resented nine percent of the anchors and
Hispanics only one percent. Of all “offi
cial sources” which were cited in televi
sion programs on these stations, nine
percent were black and only three per
cent were Latino.
Conversely, blacks and Latinos are
grossly overrepresented when it comes
to reporting on crime and violence. The
study found that whites were presented
as perpetrators of crime only 27 percent
of the time. Thirty-two percent of all
criminal suspects were Latinos and 37
percent were black. In terms of the
victims of crime, 80 percent were white,
12 percent were black, and four percent
Hispanic. These statistics illustrate the
Since 1941, 12 Black
officers have been
wounded and five killed
by white officers in New
York. In Nashville, and
Oakland Black officers
working undercover
have been beaten by
white officers. In most
other cases no legal or
disciplina7 action is
taken against white offic
ers who beat, shoot, or
harass Black Officers.
Aaron Campbell was maced and body
slammed to the ground by white officers
during a traffic stop near Orlando, Fla. A
District Commander of the Metro-Dade
Police department, Campbell was stopped
for having a tag that “obscured” his ve
hicle tag. The tag in question was a
sticker that identified him as a member
of the Fraternal Order of the Police.
Campbell was charged with resisting ar
rest and battery. An investigation is
pending.
Whether the Gaines shooting or the
Campbell arrest was the result of racial
harassment or police vigilance, the inci
dents point to the troubling reality that
Black officers all too often are victims of
unfriendly fire or physical assaults from
white officers. Since 1941, 12 Black offic
ers have been wounded and five killed by
white officersin New York. In Nashville,
and Oakland Black officers working un
dercover have been beaten by white offic
ers. In most other cases no legal or
disciplinary action is tnken against white
officers who beat, shoot, or harass Black
Officers.
The fear of death from unfriendly fire
is so great that some black officers in
New York and other cities have refused
to accept undercover assignments, par
ticularly in high crime areas. Ross notes
that fear of violence also grips many
Black officers out of uniform when they
manner through which television ma
nipulates racial symbols to influence its
audience. The media would much rather
present racial stereotypes about violence
and crime for the purpose of greater
ratings. However, their actions serve to
undermine multicultural and interracial
dialogue based on hard truths.
On the newsroom floor, white and black
journalists and managers have diametri,
cally opposing perspectives on the cen
trality of racism in their profession. A
report by the National Association of
Black journalists noted that “an over
whelming number of black journalists
(67 percent) said their newsroom manag
ers were not committed to retaining and
promoting black journalists.” When the
same question was asked of white man
agers, only five percent concurred with
this opinion. Ninety-four percent of the
managers insisted that their organiza
tions showed a “serious commitment” to
the hiring of racial minorities. The obvi
ous question, of course, is that if that is
true, where are the numbers?
An oppressed people cannot rely upon
sources of information which reflect the
interests and prerogatives of their insti
tutional oppressors. Communications is
the means through which we understand
andinterpret the world. In the context of
globalized capitalism, information is a
highly prized commodity, which is pack
aged and marketed like any other prod
uct. Knowledge is power, and it is im
perative for black Americans and other
oppressed people to seize the initiative,
wherever possible, to support alterna
tive sources of information.
Dr. Manning Marable is professor of
History and the director of the Institute
for Research in African-American Stud
ies, Columbia University, New York City.
“Along the Color Line”is distributed free
of charge to all black publications. It
appears in over 300 newspapers through
out the U.S. and internationally.
have encounters with white officers,
“Many Black officers feel that they are
not afforded the same level of profession
alism as their counterparts,” he said.
The tendency to many police officers to
protect white officers accused of brutal
ity is the “foundation “ of the “Them
versus Us” police culture, says Ron Hamp
ton executive director of the National
Black Police Officers Association.
More sensitivity and cultural diversity
training, the hiring and promotion of
more Black officers, and more diverse
assignments for Black officers have
helped reduce the violence against Black
officers. But police officials delude them
selves if they think this is enough. Many
white officers harbor deep racial biases
that are compounded by the stress of
police work.
Hampton contends that many police
officials instinctively cover-up and make
excuses for officer abuse, “What we label
the ‘ police culture’ or ‘police mentality’
reflects the racism in society. Officers
must be taught in the academy and [have]
reinforced repeatedly while on-duty that
law enforcement is race neutral and a
shoot-first-and-ask questions-later policy
will not be condoned when dealing with
minorities.” The Association supported
the recent National Emergency Confer
ence on Police Brutality and distributes
a “Ten Step Strategy to stop police mis
conduct and brutality” to community
organizations and police agencies. ‘
Hampton also blames many Black of
ficers for being complicit in perpetuating
or ignoring abuse even when they're the
targets, “Black officers don’t speak out
and even commit brutal acts out of fear of |
not being a team player or that protest
ing abuse will damage their career.” ,
But many Black officers that have been |
shot, beaten, or harassed by white offic
ers consider themselves team players and
are praised as “good cops,” yet are still
treated as criminals. And that won't
change until police officials make it clear
that Black officers are not “gangstas” |
but officers too. !
Civil rights veteran
praises “the revolution.”
GREENSBORO, NC
Julian Bond, a veteran of America’s
civil rights campaigns, declared here re
cently that victories of thisnation’shome
grown revolution provided the U.S. with
“our democracy’s finest hour.”
“A voteless people,” Bond said, “voted
with their bodies and their feet and paved
the way for other social protests.”
A founder of the Student Nonviolent
Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Bond
currently teaches history at the Univer
sity of Virginia and the American Uni
versity in Washington, D.C.
Bondisthe second in ascheduled series
of eight noted lectures in commemora
tion of the recent opening of the Interna
tional Civil Rights Center and Museum
in Greensboro.
The NAACP played a pivotal rolein the
civil rights movement, then and now,
Bond said. He added that the movement
greatly influenced other movementssuch
as those relating to the war in Vietnam
and women'’s rights.
“The mgvement’s ripples were felt far
beyond the Southern states and its victo
ries benefited more than blacks,” the
speaker continued. “Movement activists
saw the gains made by blacks extended to
greater protections for others.”
Bond identified “gender, race and the
use of abusive power” as the “three great
impediments toour democracy’s success.”
He said each was “weakened by the
civil rights movement and we are all
better for it now.”
Discussing the early organizing efforts
of movement activists, Bond observed:
“Most frequently, the NAACP’s Youth,
College and Adult Branches provided a
structured environment of protest, trans
mitting racial militancy from generation
‘to generation. They furnished leadership
training for generations of activists.
- “When the NAACP was outlawed in
.Alabama in 1956,” Bond explained, “the
membership chairman of the Birming
lham NAACP, the Rev. Fred
'Shuttlesworth, created within four days
'a successor organization, the Alabama
The Federal government:
The last plantation?
+ Calling for “massive congressional
thearings,” presidential leadership and
i holding cabinet members personally re
isponsible for discriminatory practices
I within their agencies, Congressman
‘Albert Wynn (D-MD), joined dozens of
| other civil rights organizations in vehe
'mently condemning discriminatory hir
ing and employment practices in govern
' ment agencies, especially the federal gov
ernment.
| Dozens of African-American federal
i government employees testified at the
! Equal Opportunity Summit recently held
iby Blacks in Government (BIG) at the
,Brookings Institution in Washington,
D.C.
. BIG, formed in 1975, fights discrimi
'nation in employment in all levels of
'government. The organization has 300
| chapters nationwide.
. Rep. Wynn said he will call upon the
| President to get his cabinet on board in
terms of actively working to solve dis
crimination. He said each agency should
‘ have an affirmative action plan and hold
I all levels of executives and management
'accountable for its implementation. “I
' am not talking about quotas,” Congress
man Wynn said. “I am talking about
justice. If this does not work, we will have
to take this issue to the streets.” The
iCongressman recently joined members
' of BIG and African-American employees
of the Library of Congress when they
|picketed to protest the Library’s failure
to carry out the Court’s original man
‘,dnte.
“The government has declared itself a
leader in the area of equal opportunity,
‘but African-American employees are con
‘centrated in lower levels in government
‘employ,” said Oscar Eason Jr., president
of Blacks in Government. Almost 60 per
cent of African Americans are termi
nated at a rate of three times that of
whites and there are too few African
imericnns in the Senior Executive Ser
ice, the BIG president said. BIG will join
with members of Congress and other
civil rights organizations “to overhaul
employment and hiring practices that
systematically discriminate against Afri
can Amcricans and other minorities,”
said Eason.
“I have been in this town for 27 years
and I was not aware of the extend of
discrimination in the federal workforce,”
said Robert McAlpine, head of govern
AUGUSTA FOCUS JUNE 5, 1997
i \
& .
' ‘ .
£ e | Julian Bend:
- N A" | Civil rights
L e & | revolution
' T provided U.S.
B democracy
't with its finest
‘ ‘ hour.
Christian Movement for Human Rights.”
Bond said the Montgomery Bus Boy
cott “began when Mrs. Rosa Parks, the
secretary of the State NAACP and Advi
sor to the Montgomery NAACP Youth
Council, refused to give up her seat on a
city bus.”
Bond told the audience that Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr., a life-member of the
NAACP, was appointed head of the Mont
gomery Improvement Association. The
Association had been formed to fill in for
the then outlawed NAACP branch.
“Nearly all of the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference’s (SCLC) officers
had NAACP affiliations; five were former
or current officers of their local branches
and two were board members, while one
was an employee.”
A former Georgia state legislator once
tendered as a candidate for Vice Presi
dent at the Democratic National Con
vention in 1968, Bond is a member of the
NAACP’s National Board of Directors
and was recently named Publisher of the
Association’s Crisis Magazine.
The Crisis was created in 1910 by Dr.
W.E.B. Dußois, a founder of the NAACP.
Under Dußois, theCrisis had been one of
the most authoritative periodicals ever
published on African Americans.
The museum is located on the site of
the Woolworth’s Department store where
four Black college students staged a sit
in in 1961 to protest segregated eating
facilities. bl
ment relations for the National Urban
League. “I pledge my support in helping
BIG to make the changes that are
needed.”
“Discrimination and racism in govern
ment is a waste of the taxpayers dollars,”
said Dr. Yvonne Scruggs, executive di
rector of the Black Leadership Forum, a
civil rights coalition that includes more
than 20 of the top African-American or
ganizations, including BIG. She called
for a White House conference on race.
“There has never been a change in our
nation without theleadership of the Presi
dent,” she said.
“We are at a point where we were
before the civil rights movement,” said
Romeo Spaulding, president of the Inter
national Association of Black Firefighters,
who testified about the small numbers of
African-American firefighters through
out the federal government. “Discrimi
nation is rampant in the federal
workforce.”
Many of those who testified were di
rectly hurt by the actions of their agen
cies. “As a proud Vietnam era veteran, |
am scarred by the fact that we were
willing to put our lives on the line to
defend a government that cares so little
for us,” said Tommy Swanson, an em
ployee of the General Services Adminis
tration (GSA). “I am forced to work inan
environment of harassment despite my
qualifications.” Swanson initiated a dis
crimination suit againt the GSA which
he won, but lost on appeal. “All ] want is
the same shot at American’s dreams that
I fought for in conflict,” Swanson said.
Ethel McCain, and employee of the De-:
sense Accounting and Finance Services
Agency titled her testimony “From the
Bottom of the Jelly Bean Jar,” referring to
thederogatory statements madeby Texaco
executives concerning black employees.
“I, too, have been one of those jelly beans
who can’t seem to make it up through the
jar,” McCain said. “My agency reeks with
intimidation. Management knows that if
we choose to fight for our rights, we may
become tire, retired, or expired by the time
a settlement occurs.”
Jennifer Murphy, a program analyst at
the Army Research Laboratory, said that
“management perpetuators of discrimi
nation should be identified and taken to
of the chain of command.” She said that
her agency “systematically discriminates
in terms of employment.”
8A