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Covering Race and Police Brutality
Countering
negative
patterns
by
B ob B utler
The second half
of 2014 has been marked by the
shooting deaths of four African-
American males by local law
enforcement — Michael Brown
in Ferguson, Mo.; Eric Garner in
New York, John Crawford and
Tamir Rice in Ohio — that have
attracted the attention of na
tional media and the federal gov
ernment, and shined a light on
the issue of policing in minority
communities.
It has also been marked by
some exceptional journalism on
the subject, as well as some
alarming narratives from jo u r
nalistic choices that, while not
necessarily intentional, serve to
perpetuate stereotypes of black
men as dangerous criminals.
Race is present in the dynam
ics around these stories and those
who are involved in producing
these stories. Put another way:
while a diverse group of journal
ists has been on the ground re tant to recognize the negative
porting this story, the same can patterns that can emerge in such
not be said about who makes stories, and to discuss strategies
decisions about what will be for countering these patterns.
covered and how.
Two questions can help guide
Some of the coverage goes this process: Is this information
into great detail about how the relevant? And how will this af
victims’ actions may have con fect the story?
tributed to their own demise: John
A big part of how narrative is
Crawford should not have tried shaped in these stories starts
to buy a toy rifle at Walmart, with the photos of those involved.
Mike Brown should not have While availability of photos can
(allegedly) stolen cigars from a be a challenge, especially in the
convenience store, Eric Gam er early stages of a fast-moving
should not have (allegedly) been story, efforts must be made to
selling loose cigarettes and Tamir paint the fullest picture (pun in
Rice should not have been play tended) of the central figures.
ing with a toy gun.
Im ages depicting black men
These cases are not the first, solely as menacing, threatening
nor will they be the last, involving or dangerous only fuel existing
black males and the police. It must stereotypes.
be pointed out that black males
Weighing whether to include
are not the only ones being shot. details about a black victim ’s
Dillon Taylor in Utah and Gil Col criminal background or drug use
lar in Alabama were white and also contributes to the narrative.
also unarmed when police shot Here, balance is important. Is
them. The difference is the media there an attempt to report the
coverage of their cases does not officer’s history? Does the of
imply that they deserved to die.
ficer have a disciplinary history
From the breaking news cov or a record of complaints re
erage of these events to the garding use of force? Is the
analysis that followed, and will victim ’s background relevant to
hopefully continue, it is impor the specific incident that ended
his life? If so, explain this to
readers, lest it be interpreted as
gratuitous or malicious.
In the case of Tamir Rice,
why did the Northwest Ohio
Media Group report on his par
ents’ criminal records? What did
that have to do with Rice being
shot by police?
Stories like Ferguson and the
deaths of Crawford, Garner and
Rice reaffirm the urgency of
more diverse American news
rooms. Look no further than the
m em bership of the N ational
Association of Black Journalists
to find many examples of re
sponsible reporting.
N ABJ was founded in 1975 in
part, “to monitor and sensitize all
media to racism .” Nearly 40
years later, NABJ still finds it
necessarily to fulfill this role. It is
our hope that those committed to
a better approach to exploring
issues of race and society will
join us in examining how we can
all improve.
Bob Butler is the President
o f the National Association o f
Black Journalists , the largest
organization fo r journalists o f
color in the nation.
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Long Past Time to Repeal Second Amendment
Ending this
instrument
of death
by
T om H . H astings
W hat
c o u n try
fetishizes, lionizes, valo
rizes, idolizes, and sacralizes guns
as much as does our United
S ta te s?
OK,
p o ssib ly
Mozambique— the only country
with an AK47 on its flag, but
really, it’s long past time to end
this obsessive “My Precious”
attachment of Americans to in
struments of death.
O f the nine top stories from
Reuters on Christmas Day last
week, six were about shootings
— four new ones and two were
about the national justice move
ment against the shootings of
citizens by police.
A pandemic of sick gun vio
lence, punctuated by mass killings
of children, has gone on far too
long. It is long past time to repeal
the stupid Second Amendment.
The fate of the law should
have been sealed when the U.S.
Supreme Court took up a Sec
ond A m endm ent case in
2008, but the court ruled
that past rulings by their pre
decessors were wrong, that
into twisted law, but to further
prohibit states and local govern
ments from declaring their juris
dictions free of legal guns. The
conservative court once again
ruled against the power of states,
a principle that used to be asso
ciated with liberals who wanted
to make sure everyone had the
Amendment, is to repeal it.
The American people are tired
o f m ass s h o o tin g s, p o lic e
shootings, family fued shootings,
sibling shootings, accidental tod
dler shootings and teen suicide
by gun.
We are exhausted by the pro
liferation of death, of threats, of
bloodshed, and by the National
R ifle A sso c ia tio n and gun
industry’s moral garbage-spew
ing arguments put forth every
time someone challenges the
ubiquity of guns.
Repeal the Second Amend
ment. Surround it, grab it, bring it
in the back room, pull down the
shades, and end it. Okay, peti
right to vote, for example, even tion for its repeal, get it on the
th o u g h they w e re n ’t w hite ballot, and get it done by enough
enough. Now when a city or of the U.S. populace, by enough
state wants to outlaw firearms, people in enough states, to get it
too bad. The conservatives took consigned to the dustbin of his
away their powers and rights in tory.
favor of Big Brother.
Tom H. H astings is the
The only logical path, given the fo u n d in g
director
of
clearly decided role of the Second PeaceVoice.
The American people are tired o f
mass shootings, police shootings,
family fued shootings, sibling
shootings, accidental toddler
shootings and teen suicide by gun.
in fact the Amendment that pro
vided for a “well regulated mili
tia” really guaranteed every in
dividual the right to own a gun.
Wow. That is an interesting read
ing of the English language.
What the Supremes have done
is to not only warp the meaning
of the Amendment and make it
à