By geekswagg
So many times on tv we are now more than ever faced with the lack of black males in leading roles. The power of the media makes us believe that men of color should only be thugs, sidekicks, and "court jesters". In the world of "white" Hollywood when does it become acceptable to place the black male as a lead character?
Why is it that now when we have a Black President, black men are sidelined into roles of athletes, thugs, comic relief, or extra? Its a systemic effort my the entertainment media to continue its assault on the psyche of the young black male. If all of the roles on tv you see are thugs, rappers, athletes, or prisoners it can influence your behavior and what you aspire to become in life.
Take a show like "Scandal" or the new show "Deception", both have leading black women characters with no black male lead to compliment them. Its the dichotomy of the portrayal of this situation that continues to enforce the mischaracterization of black males as being absent from a black woman's life or not qualified for her standards.
When is Hollywood going to open the gates of ignorance and give black men their fair shot at being the "Clark Gable" of their time? Its time for African-american men in the entertainment industry to truly demand for more leading roles in Hollywood or create them using the internet.
Give our black boys a reason and image to look up, because they need to see themselves on tv rather than as a sketch in the crime report on the 10'o clock news.
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