Images of African Americans in the Media Before and After Civil Rights

Abstract Images of African Americans in Film Before and After Civil Rights By Megan Douglas Master of Social Work The film image of Blacks during the first half of the twentieth century was predominantly negative. Blacks struggled with stereotypical and derogatory images, and messages which were publicly sanctioned. They experienced extensive discrimination and segregation. These inequities spawned the civil rights movement which was successful in ending segregation and produced the voting rights act of 1964. These victories gave hope to Blacks that they would finally become an accepted and respected part of American society. As a result, this research has focused on the images, themes, and messages in film of Blacks both before and after civil rights. It assessed whether the images, themes, and messages have remained the same, improved or worsened by researching the 11 most commercially successful films of each decade beginning in 1915 through 2013. The criteria used for the films examined required that a Black person have a starring/co-starring role in the film. This research determined that there have been some improvements in the characterizations of the Blacks depicted in the films that were viewed. With the findings of this analysis it may be possible to recommend to the film industry that they employ social workers and other professionals who are educated about various cultures and racist images to analyze Black characters before films are made to help provide a fair representation of Blacks in film.