The media has been frequently reporting a series of events dealing with race as the catalyst of each situation and with each event the media intentionally neglects the issue of race, contributing to the destruction of racial equality in America.

Recently, Fox News called the racially motivated murders of nine African American members of the Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, an “attack on faith.” 

Rather than addressing the issue of a hate crime taking place, the mainstream-news corporation continues to turn the other cheek, claiming the crime was an attack on Christianity.

What needs to be known is that the 21-year-old shooter, Dylann Roof, was a member of St.Paul’s Lutheran church in Columbia, South Carolina, according to the Huffington Post. What is also worth noting is in a report by CNN, Roof had spoken to a friend of his in a drunken rant, speaking about a 6-month plan to start a race war.

By no means was this malicious attack motivated by religion but by years of built up hatred and envy towards African-Americans. The misinformation presented by media outlets like Fox News, claiming to be credible, only throws gasoline into the fire when they continue to ignore the elephant in the room, while disrespecting African-American communities in the process.

Earlier this week, President Barack Obama was under intense scrutiny by CNN for using the term “nigger,” in context, in his response to a question about the state of racism in America during an interview for the podcast “WTF with Marc Maron.” 

It is understandable that President Obama using the word “nigger” could draw some negative publicity, being that he has been extremely diligent in making sure his time served as president is not overshadowed by the color of his skin.

Where the real issue lies with the word “nigger,” is when people get caught up in the idea of being politically correct, which the mainstream media has promoted. 

There is no doubt that the word is extremely hateful when used in a derogatory way toward a person of color. But when used in context to debate the issue of race in America, it is important to take the word head on for people to understand the amount of power and harm the word carries.

If Americans continue to become immersed in this ideology of being politically correct, which hinders a person’s fundamental right to free speech, then America is nowhere near ready for the race debate.

It has been almost sixty years since the last decade of overt racism in the 1960s, which is not that long ago. If progress is to be made, the mainstream media must be held accountable for the validity of their reporting. 

In terms of racial equality, politicians must take initiative by establishing some political will. By reforming laws that have discriminately affected African Americans and other minorities, the use of systemic racism will cease overtime.

More importantly, college students, who are the future politicians and workforce of the country, must also become proactive in creating an open, mature environment for discussion about race in America as these events continue to present themselves.

Michael Mendoza Pop Culture & Media
Michael Mendoza
Pop Culture & Media