NJ Council for the Humanities

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Participants at a Trayvon Martin rally

Suspect Number 1: The Criminalization of Black Men in the Media

It’s time to talk about the way that black men are portrayed in the media. In early film and television, black characters were strictly categorized. From brutal savages to submissives, from characters of comic fodder to lazy subhuman creatures, the typical black man was only presented in specific and offensive ways. Fast forward to the new millennium and black men are often portrayed as criminals and thugs. This has contributed to the perceptions of black men as “Suspect Number 1.” In this session, participants will explore these stereoptypical portrayals and discuss how this affects bias against black men in society.

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Donnetrice C. Allison, Ph.D.
Professor of Communication Studies and Africana Studies at Stockton University

Donnetrice C. Allison, Ph.D currently serves as Professor of both Communication Studies and Africana Studies at Stockton University. Dr. Allison also serves as chair of the Africana Studies Program and President of the Faculty Senate. In addition to Africana Studies, Dr. Allison has been a Communication Studies scholar for more than two decades. In 2016, Dr. Allison published a book on Black women’s portrayals on reality television; and she recently contributed a chapter for the book, “Race in America.”
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