The show does nothing to advance the perception of Blacks or alter how Blacks are viewed by non-Blacks across the world. Every show does not and cannot project the true image of working-class Blacks who are law-abiding, hard-working and committed to family. That’s a more accurate reality of Black life. But the all-too-pervasive visual of African-Americans as drug dealers or former drug peddlers has been overdone, and each time it is done it re-enforces a false narrative about who Black people are as a whole. It is a reason globally that Blacks are viewed less favorably than any other race. The gangster/philanderer/murderer role more recently was done in the Showtime network show, Power — and it was done much better and smarter. “I can’t tell you everything that Dr. (Martin Luther) King and our ancestors wanted for our people,” social commentator Boyce Watkins said, “(but) I can certainly say that it had nothing to do with the crap we’re seeing in modern American media.”
This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.
For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.
Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.
We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.
If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.
Same Ole, Same Ole
