Born and raised a black American, as a so-called minority I long ago acquired the skill of paying close attention to when and how black people are used in the media.
You see, the sad truth is that the so-called majority ¡ª who both create the media and are the main consumers of it ¡ª many of whom, for a variety of reasons, neither get to nor are inclined to interact with some minority groups, and therefore rely on the media to tell them what we¡¯re like.
And, sadly, the majority often walks away from these films, TV programs, news reports and commercials ill-informed, yet convinced they have gained an insight that factors into their judgment of who we are in real life, regardless of whether the people depicted in the work¡¯s conception had a say in it or not.
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