Opinion
Old Guard Marginalizes Ferguson
“Challenging People to Shape
a Better Future Now”
B ERNIE F OSTER
Founder/Publisher
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Photographers
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R
emember
these
names:
Ashley Yates,
Johnetta Elzie, and Deray
McKesson. They could get an
invite to meet President Obama in
the Whites House, but for some
odd reason, there was confusion
about whether the young Ferguson
activists could speak at the #Jus-
ticeForAll march called primarily
by Al Sharpton’s National Action
Network on Dec. 13.
There should not have been con-
fusion. If history is a guide, it
likely had to do with the well-
known fact that Sharpton is
finicky – to put it mildly – about
who speaks at events he’s connect-
ed with.
In the case of the Ferguson
activists, they kicked off a round
of unprecedented global attention
on the issue of police brutality. So,
an invite from Sharpton should
have been automatic. Why would-
n’t it be? The reason is obvious:
Certain leaders will never ever
exit the stage on their own voli-
tion. The idea that the next
generation should “wait their turn”
is perfectly laughable since every-
one knows they will never be
granted one.
Young activists did what some-
one should have done a long time
ago: They took the mic away from
old leaders and started talking.
Seems like I remember a story of
Jesse Jackson asserting himself in
SCLC. I read about John Lewis,
the chairman of the Student Non-
violent Coordinating Committee
(SNCC) being told to tone down
his speech in order to speak at the
1963 March on Washington.
We’ve been watching old heads
giving press conferences, organiz-
ing marches, and summits for
years. It’s long past time for
NNPA
C OLUMNIST
Lauren
Victoria
Burke
something new.
Keeping young people out of the
spotlight is nothing new. I was
there in 2013 when there was “no
time” for Dream Defenders Execu-
tive Director Phil Agnew to speak
at the March on Washington 50-
year commemoration. As Agnew
walked to the podium, Sharpton
arrived and started speaking.
wins, but they aren’t.
When it comes to the issue of
police brutality, certainly Sharpton
is not the real issue or the true
problem. Michael Stewart in 1983.
Eleanor Bumpurs in 1984.
Amadou Diallo in 1999. Patrick
Dorismond in 2000. Sean Bell in
2006. Eric Garner in 2014. Sharp-
ton has been championing the
issue of police misconduct for
more than three decades. What are
his wins? If you’re the White
House’s anointed “go to” man on
Black issues, one would think an
occasional victory would be easier
to come by.
But think again.
Johnetta Elzie lives in a town
where a cop became a millionaire
Certain leaders will never ever exit the
stage on their own volition. The idea
that the next generation should ‘wait
their turn’ is perfectly laughable since
everyone knows they will never be
granted one
Funny how that happens. Were we
really supposed to believe that a
10-hour program couldn’t spare
Agnew two minutes?
At Mike Brown’s funeral,
Sharpton ended the speeches with
himself. And just think, we’re not
talking strategy yet – just speak-
ing. Not only have young leaders
been marginalized, they have been
deliberately blocked by old ones.
Next year yet another “leadership
summit” is planned by the old-
heads.
This would all be fine if Black
leaders were racking up policy
after killing an unarmed teenager.
That teen’s body lay in the center
of the street for more than four
hours. In the weeks that followed,
cops shoot two other Black males
to death under questionable cir-
cumstances. One had a butter
knife that police claimed he threat-
ened them with in “an overhead
grip” style. A tape emerged prov-
ing they were liars. Ms. Elzie
wouldn’t stay quiet when every-
one said shut up and calm down.
She didn’t stay quiet on December
13 either.
This isn’t about a microphone.
It’s about who decides strategy.
It’s about who decides “what’s
next.” It’s about power and what
will be demanded from whom.
Already we see that Ferguson
leaders could care less about
whether the White House is happy
at the expense of focus on issues
in the Black community. For four
years Sharpton has deliberately
avoided challenging the president
on any issue. Has that worked?
Could Martin Luther King have
won policy victories without pres-
suring Lyndon Johnson? How is
it’s possible that Sharpton can
walk in and out the door 61 times
in six years and have nothing to
show for it?
Meanwhile, Hispanic and gay
leaders won ENDA and DACA
and $1.2 billion in the CRomnibus
for immigration relief at the bor-
der as Pell Grants and pensions are
cut. All to the silence of civil
rights leaders.
And what is the current back-
drop? The economic situation is
worse for African Americans. The
unemployment rate being double
has been accepted as “how it is.”
The wealth gap between black and
white is the largest in 25 years as
Black “leaders” said nothing as
President Obama agreed to make
the Bush tax cuts permanent. The
percentage of Blacks in poverty is
27 percent as community block
grants were cut to the silence of
leadership.
When the Obama administration
cost HBCUs $150 million, and
28,000 students at HBCUs had
their education interrupted there
was little pushback. What were
Black leaders pushing for and
against? What were they doing as
these policies were being decided
on?
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Through The Media Lens: Covering Race
T
he second half of 2014 has
been marked by the shoot-
ing
deaths
of
four
African-American males by local
law enforcement — Michael
Brown in Ferguson, Missouri; Eric
Garner in New York, John Craw-
ford and Tamir Rice in Ohio —
that have attracted the attention of
national media and the federal
government, and shined a light on
the issue of policing in minority
communities.
It has also been marked by some
exceptional journalism on the sub-
ject, as well as some alarming
narratives from journalistic choic-
es that, while not necessarily
intentional, serve to perpetuate
stereotypes of Black men as dan-
gerous criminals.
Race is present in the dynamics
around these stories and those who
are involved in producing these
stories. Put another way: while a
diverse group of journalists has
been on the ground reporting this
story, the same cannot be said
about who makes decisions about
what will be covered and how.
Some of the coverage goes into
great detail about how the victims’
actions may have contributed to
their own demise: John Crawford
should not have tried to buy a toy
rifle at Walmart, Mike Brown
should not have (allegedly) stolen
G UEST C OLUMNIST
Bob Butler
cigars from a convenience store,
Eric Garner should not have
(allegedly) been selling loose cig-
arettes and Tamir Rice should not
have been playing with a toy gun.
These cases are not the first, nor
will they be the last, involving
Black males and the police. It
must be pointed out that Black
males are not the only ones being
shot. Dillon Taylor in Utah and Gil
Collar in Alabama were White and
Two questions can help guide
this process: Is this information
relevant? And how will this affect
the story?
A big part of how narrative is
shaped in these stories starts with
the photos of those involved.
While availability of photos can
be a challenge, especially in the
early stages of a fast-moving story,
efforts must be made to paint the
fullest picture (pun intended) of
the central figures. Images depict-
ing black men solely as menacing,
threatening or dangerous only fuel
existing stereotypes.
Weighing whether to include
A big part of how narrative is shaped
in these stories starts with the photos of
those involved
also unarmed when police shot
them. The difference is the media
coverage of their cases does not
imply that they deserved to die.
From the breaking news cover-
age of these events to the analysis
that followed, and will hopefully
continue, it is important to recog-
nize the negative patterns that can
emerge in such stories, and to dis-
cuss strategies for countering
these patterns.
Page 2 The Portland and Seattle Skanner December 24, 2014
details about a black victim’s
criminal background or drug use
also contributes to the narrative.
Here, balance is important. Is
there an attempt to report the offi-
cer’s history? Does the officer
have a disciplinary history or a
record of complaints regarding use
of force? Is the victim’s back-
ground relevant to the specific
incident that ended his life? If so,
explain this to readers, lest it be
interpreted as gratuitous or mali-
cious.
In the case of Tamir Rice, why
did the Northwest Ohio Media
Group report on his parents’ crim-
inal 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 newsrooms.
Look no further than the member-
ship of the National Association of
Black Journalists to find many
examples of responsible reporting.
NABJ was founded in 1975 in
part, “to monitor and sensitize all
media to racism.” Nearly 40 years
later, NABJ still finds it necessari-
ly 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 of
the National Association of Black
Journalists (NABJ). NABJ is the
largest organization for journal-
ists of color in the nation, and
provides career development as
well as educational and other sup-
port to its members worldwide.
For additional information, please
visit, http://www.nabj.org