Once too often, I’ve heard, “Slavery happened a long time ago, why can’t we just get over it?”
事实上，奴隶制只是众多事件和政策中的一个篇章，这些事件和政策造成了系统性的种族主义，并影响了几代人。作为一个国家，我们大多数时候都在寻求向前看，埋葬这些最糟糕的故事，从而扭曲了美国人对非裔美国人今天所面临问题的看法。
作为观众、内容创作者、讲故事的人和记者，我们可以对自己提出更高的要求，以扩展非裔美国人的叙事。这样，我们才能真正了解黑人社区不得不承受的挑战，以及他们不得不重建的全部范围。
Case in point: In 1921, 10,000 White residents descended upon a thriving wealthy Black neighborhood known as “Black Wall Street” in Tulsa, Okla., with the intent of erasing the community and all its residents. No one was held responsible for the destruction of this community during this little known event, now referred to as The Greenwood Massacre or the Tulsa Race Massacre. In the wake of the attack, those in power sought to shift blame to the African American victims, erasing their suffering, as well as the success that came before it, including from history books. It was only in the last year that the history of Black Wall Street was formally added to the state’s curriculum.
Denied insurance claims and other reparations, this thriving Black economy was obliterated. A century later, Black Tulsans make up 15% of the population, but just 3% of Black households in Tulsa have a six-figure income, and only 5% are small business owners according to Nielsen Scarborough.
这个故事不仅仅是关于一个社区的死亡。它还涉及到控制和限制关于非裔美国人所取得的成就--以及他们所取得的成就是如何被摧毁的更广泛的叙述。
Limiting the narrative around Black achievement still plays out in our media today. While representation of Black talent on television today is high, 16% in 2020, the themes and roles African Americans are most often seen in are limited primarily to reality shows, drama, horror, sports, music and “urban” themed programming.
For example, representation drops when it comes to broadcast and cable political news genres, which have the power and impact to shape the American perspective on policy. Even though Black audiences watched more than 15% of the minutes viewed, Black leads and announcers had only a 6% share of the screen time in this genre, according to Gracenote 融合分析. In fact, 85% of the most-viewed programming covering our politics exclude Black talent.
Being seen for everything we achieve as African Americans and the nuance of everything we have overcome matters. The Greenwood Massacre is one example among many of how tragedies of the past still impact us today. Had the access and influence of Black Wall Street been inherited by the residents of Greenwood instead of erased, there’s no telling where Black people in Tulsa, or across the country would be 100 years later. This cycle of uprooting Black progress, from the destruction of communities, typecasting into narrow roles in media, or diminishing civil rights, are just some of the reasons why we see an emphasis on ownership in today’s movement toward racial justice.
Now is the time to break the cycle. Because we can, and should, correct the course going forward. Telling the complete history of African Americans, no matter how hard it is to hear, and letting more Black voices tell their stories, are steps we can take today to reframe how the community is viewed as well as to raise awareness around the systems and policies that are racially biased.
这至少已经拖了一个世纪。
