Our Everyday Reality

The feeling of despair and hopelessness is evident everytime I turn on the news. Will I see another black man gunned down by police over the “misconception”of him being armed? Will I witness a young adult being murdered senselessly? Or will I watch another white man be acquitted of all charges or simply just put on probation? The media has such a huge role to inform the public on information we desperately want to know and portray the story accurately and unbiased. Tamir Rice, Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Nia Wilson - the list goes on and on. Unbiased?, absolutely not. Media portrayal of black victims is often ALWAYS harsher; media digs to find something to criminalize the black victim because there has to be a valid reason as to why they were killed. Then the news outlets later apologizes with no sincerity because the next victim will be treated the exact same way. It’s a never ending cycle of injustice. News reports often engage in what critics call a form of character assassination. Often choosing to run headlines that exude a feeling of disbelief that a white man could be capable of such things. Boosting the suspect’s character, sharing quotes from family members that paint them in a positive light or pleading that the person is mentally ill. News outlets depicted convicted murderer behind the Denver movie theater shooting as a brilliant student with a privileged background and even brighter future.

CBS Denver and the Denver Post headlines read “Theater Shooting Suspect Was Brilliant Science Student,” and “Our son is mentally ill.”