"A very readable introduction to the regional dialects of American English and, in all important respects, the work of a capable scholar" Language Sciences.

From pamphlets denouncing slavery to boycotts of Hollywood, African Americans have fought for adequate representations of themselves in the mass media industries of the United States. This book provides readers with an interdisciplinary overview of the past, present, and future of African Americans in U.S. media and the ongoing project of gaining racial equality in media: a process which spans generations. Catherine Squires introduces the reader to the varied ways in which Black Americans have navigated cultural, political, and economic obstacles both to make their own media and to critique mainstream media. Synthesizing the work of social scientists, historians, cultural critics, as well as comments from audience members and media producers, African Americans and the Media gives readers a lively entry point to classic and contemporary studies of Black Americans and mass media. Across the chapters, readers follow African Americans’ struggles to harness the power of print, broadcasting, film, and digital media, through five main themes which are woven through the book: representation, circulation, innovation, audience and responsibility. Taking in examples as diverse as Blaxploitation films, the work of 20th Century black activist journalists such as Ida B. Wells and A. Philip Randolph, and popular television such as The Cosby Show, this book will be essential reading for all students and scholars of media and communications and African American studies.

Though Latinos and African Americans have lived together in large cities as neighbors, there is much that is still misunderstood between them. Those who live in non-diverse locales have only news and entertainment representations on which to base their information about the two cultures. This new collection of essays brings together the latest interdisciplinary works by scholars examining conflicts and convergences among Latinos and African Americans in mass-mediated and cross-cultural contexts. Contributions in the form of both empirical and critical ethnographic research present compelling works in cross-cultural relations, news, entertainment, news media, education, and community relations. ^IBrown and Black Communication^R challenges those who do not think that significant projects and key research have been conducted on the two largest ethnic communities in the United States. Of certain appeal to both scholars and those with more applied needs in media, education, and public policy, this challenging collection offers a range of perspectives on two widely diverse bodies of American people.

When first published, Marshall McLuhan's Understanding Media made history with its radical view of the effects of electronic communications upon man and life in the twentieth century.

Living in a segregated society, white Americans learn about African Americans through the images the media show. This text offers a look at the racial patterns in the mass media and how they shape the ambivalent attitudes of whites toward blacks.