Opportunity for Black Men and Boys: Public Opinion, Media Depictions, and Media Consumption

Presents a review of literature that looks at how media representations affect the lives of black men and boys, as well as analyses of public opinion research on race, implications for promoting black male achievement, and black men's media consumption.

• Black males tend to be overrepresented in media related to poverty and crime and underrepresented as technical experts, users of luxury items, and sympathetic and competent figures. Tweet
• Media largely fail to report on the structural causes of disadvantage, which perpetuates stereotyping and narrow-mindedness. Tweet
• Eighty percent of Whites and just 49 percent of Blacks believe that Black children "have as good a chance as White children in your community to get a good education." Tweet
• Eighty-two percent of Whites and 42 percent of Blacks believe that "Blacks have as good a chance as White people in your community to get any kind of job for which they are qualified." Tweet
• Whites are likely to believe that Black women make more money and are better educated than Black men because Black women work harder. Blacks are more likely to believe that it is because Black men face more discrimination. Tweet
• Black-oriented media make up four of the top 20 media sources based on reach to Black men nationwide. Tweet