More than four decades ago Martin Luther King Jr. and others fought not only for African American equality, but for all races to be accepted as equals. King most logically did not believe his laudable actions would result in everyone getting along or sharing the same personality, but it's highly doubtful he believed race would continue to define people in such a profound way.
Every race is expected to fit into a neat little box.. Asians are supposed to be intelligent, upstanding individuals who for some reason can ace calculus but can't operate automobiles. Blacks are supposed to listen to hip hop, wear their pants around their ankles and say "fo sheezy" all of the time. Latinos are supposed to be illegal immigrants who steal all of the good jobs like orange peddlers and janitors.
Is it really wrong to make those aforementioned racist comments? It's true, some Asians really are brilliant, some blacks really do listen to hip hop, and some Latinos really are here illegally. Then again, some of the best hip-hop music in existence was actually made in India. Some Asians need as much math tutoring as anyone else and Latino doesn't always equal illegal alien, yet these stereotypes often define who we're supposed to be.
The all-powerful entertainment industry also has a way of making people feel restricted by their own skin. Movies and TV are more or less designed to reflect real life, and for a long time after segregation came to an end and minorities were actually given the opportunity to appear on television and movies, they were often portrayed in a negative fashion. Now even though some accomplished black actors like Morgan Freeman are given parts based on their charm and not their skin color, others are still limited to playing stereotypical characters that can lead more impressionable individuals to assume that is the norm.
The media can affect people in odd ways. It can start trends and influence peoples decisions. If thin, gorgeous models can create low self-esteem and eating disorders and sexy beer commercials showing carefree men partying and having a good time can create alcoholics, why is it so hard to believe that networks like UPN can create racial stereotypes? Black comedians like D.L. Hughley can often be hilarious, but many of them waste too much of their humor ranting about all the ways minorities are supposed to be different from one another, and really different from white people. D.L. Hughley is not some sort of cult leader who brainwashes blacks into thinking they aren't allowed to watch Friends, but maybe his comedy is just powerful enough to make his black audience feel guilty for taping it while watching his stand-up show.
The media outlet which is quite possibly the most unfair to minorities is perhaps the one that should be the least unfair, the news. New Orleans is a predominantly black city. When Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana and the government did not respond as quickly as they should have, it became speculation that race played a large part in the initial negligence, and judging by the way the black victims of the hurricane are being portrayed on the news, one could say the racism theory isn't too far off.
The infamous "Black Looter/White Finder" news photos circulating through different print and internet publications are an example of the racially charged attitude surrounding Katrina. One photo shows a young black boy "looting a grocery store" while the other shows a white couple "finding bread and soda from a grocery store" according to the respective cut lines. The families were both participating in the same action, but since white families are so unfamiliar with poverty they must have been acting out of desperation.
Government negligence could also stem from the fact that the media loves to romanticize disasters, especially by getting celebrities to urge people to help. It's as if we wouldn't send money to The Red Cross unless Cameron Diaz told us to. The media also makes partially true romance movies about pretty people in disaster situations (After Titanic opened in theaters every 15-year-old girl to board a cruise ship was halfway hoping the thing would sink.) Yet minorities are seldom portrayed as romantic figures in the media. Minorities are always the comic relief characters or the desperate criminals. They are never the ones saying "I'll never let go."
So what does it take to make the government want to help? Expose blacks as criminals and whites as heroes because that's what society has come to expect. Nearly every Katrina rescue worker shown on television is a brave white person saving a black person. Maybe they'll make a movie about this someday, starring Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet as rescue workers who fall in love in spite of Anthony Anderson's character stealing their wallets and calling them "whack."
Race has a far greater impact on society than people choose to realize. Once society can start to admit that racism is an issue, maybe one day it really won't be.
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