National Council of Negro Women

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Issue: African- Americans Images in the Arts and Media! Sponsoring Organization: The National Council of Negro Women Sponsoring Delegate: Gregory F. George! Committee (Mfundu): Arts & Entertainment !
633 Pennsylvania Ave, NW Washington, DC 20004! T 202-737-0120! F 202-737-0476 membership@ncnnw.org www.ncnw.org!

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One of the most important things any group of people can do is to control the image of themselves. Overwhelmingly, white Americans learn about African Americans not through personal relationships, but through images shown by media. Unfortunately, blacks, too, consume these same images. Peoples perceptions of themselves are shaped by others perceptions of them. There is a very strong psychological component that goes along with the images people are shown of themselves. This affects the way whites see blacks, the way blacks believe whites see them, and the way blacks see themselves.! We, the National Council for Negro Women, understand that the images of African Americans in Arts & Entertainment have never been images that truly reect the true nature of the African American. From the days of black face to Birth of a Nation, the struggle to dene blacks in arts and entertainment has been perversely displayed by an industry that has proted off of the coom, mammy, brutal black buck, mulatto, and other distasteful images of African Americans. The council is concerned that the more generations grow up in an age of technology and social media, these images will become self- fullling examples of the general black culture. We are who we perceive ourselves to be. With the election of President Barack Obama and a great example set by our rst lady, Michelle Obama, we see hope in the way blacks can be perceived by others. The concern we have is whether or not blacks will begin to see themselves in this positive manner. !

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1. We declare accordingly; we must take control of our image in all platforms that we are given as a race,! 2. We encourage; black women need to begin to dene themselves,!

National Council of Negro Women 3. We emphasize; the importance of positive images in television, a less sexualized music industry, a greater focus in the ne arts, and an investment in arts education,! 4. We further proclaim; in the words of Malcolm X, the media is the most powerful entity on earth. The controllers of the media have the power to make the innocent guilty and
633 Pennsylvania Ave, NW Washington, DC 20004! T 202-737-0120! F 202-737-0476 membership@ncnnw.org www.ncnw.org!

the guilty innocent. The media has the power to control the minds of the masses. We should take control of our media outlets and do a better of job of putting our best face forward as African Americans.