The Media and the Black Response

African American men have played a role in all aspects of the media in the United States, but their participation has not always been welcomed or come easily. The dominant media have either excluded African Americans or portrayed them in such a bad light that some black people may have preferred exclusion. But over the years African Americans have used adversity to motivate them to create opportunities for themselves. Racist editorial attacks on black people motivated Samuel Cornish and John Russworm to found the country's first black newspaper. Years later, Percy Sutton purchased his first station, WLIB radio (New York), as a means of marshaling political power for the city's black and Hispanic communities. As the twentieth century comes to a close, African American men work in all areas of the media in positions ranging from technicians to owners. The level of their authority and their images vary, but they have a definite presence.