Disparities in the portrayals of Black and white people
Yusef Salaam, one of the Central Park 5, in 2009. Photo by Thomas Good. CC BY-SA 3.0
Black individuals frequently face misleading portrayals in the media, with distorted reports and statements. Issues such as burglaries, sexual assault, theft, voting rights, child neglect, and the dismissive All Lives Matter rhetoric often overshadow their experiences, leading to a stark contrast in how their consequences and prison sentences are given compared to white individuals.
On the 23rd of March, 2015, a newspaper in Iowa ran two stories about two separate burglaries. The images used for the three white men from one burglary were yearbook photos. The other story, about the arrest of four Black men, used their mug shots.
Brock Turner, a white college student who violently raped an unconscious girl, was given a six-month sentence due to his “previous good character”. He served three months. Compare this to the Central Park Five, a group of innocent Black boys scapegoated for the rape of a white woman, who served between six to thirteen years for a crime none of them had committed.
In 1982, Willie Simmons was sentenced to 38 years in prison for stealing $9. Alabama’s Habitual Offender Law — used against Simmons in this case — makes no distinction between violent and non-violent crimes, meaning you can be sentenced to life for a charge as minor as drug possession. Under this law, three out of four people sentenced to life without parole are Black, despite the fact Alabama’s population is only 26.6% Black.
Shanesha Taylor, a homeless Black woman who left her children in a car for 45 minutes so she could attend a job interview, was arrested and faced losing her kids. Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby, a white woman whose daughter died after she left her locked in her car for eight hours, was not indicted, as her behavior did not meet the definition of “reckless conduct”.
Crystal Mason, a Black woman, was sentenced to five years in prison for voter fraud when she cast a provisional ballot that was never counted, not realizing that under Texas law, anyone who had been convicted of a felony — as she had — was prohibited from voting. Glen Tank, a white man, pleaded guilty to the same charge, of accidental “ineligible voting”, and received a fine of $1,253.
Over 11 million pounds has been spent trying to find Madeleine McCann, who went missing 13 years ago. Shukri Abdi, a 12-year-old Black Muslim refugee, drowned in a river near Manchester while one of a group of children she was with laughed. Her case was closed immediately and her death was written off as an accident.
The Huffington Post ran two pieces within an hour of each other regarding Seth Rogen and John Boyega’s responses to racism. The headline for the Seth Rogen piece praised him for his “no nonsense response to ‘All Lives Matter comments’”, while the John Boyega headline centered on him dismissing a “claim he’s using his platform to spout hate against white people”.
As a whole, media discrepancies often stem from systemic racism, influencing how stories are reported and perceived. This bias shapes narratives, leading to unequal representation and distorted realities in coverage.
Anyla McDonald aspires to become a poet, short story writer, and essayist speaking about racism against Black people, current world problems, and hot topics. When she writes, she does it with purpose and passion. She feels destined to touch others with her words, and wants to be known as someone who takes a stand and impacts lives with her writing.
Anyla is a columnist for Tumbleweird and an intern at Taylored Living Magazine.