Media Failing to Portray Accurate Depiction of Black Families

Being Healthy is Beautiful” by Army Medicine licensed under CC BY 2.0

Source: Washington Post

Based on new findings released by a racial justice organization, news media outlets are failing to accurately portray the lives of black families.

According to a study published by Color of Change, African American families represent 59 percent of the media coverage that focuses on poverty.

However, government data shows that only 27 percent of African Americans live in poverty with white families constituting 66 percent of the poor population within the US.

Typically, media and news coverage depicts black families as being dysfunctional and heavily reliant on welfare.

“This leaves people with the opinion that black people are plagued with self-imposed dysfunction that creates family instability and therefore, all their problems,” said Travis L. Dixon, communications professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, of the findings.

Read Full Story: Washington Post

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