Media Outlets Saying, “Black Lives Matter”- But Do They Really Mean It?

2020, in of itself, has been a journey. We entered a new decade with a pandemic, and in the midst of that, all the meat of a civil rights movement emerged. People from all over the world proclaimed ‘Black Lives Matter’ on their streets, in their homes, and in their workplaces. Let me preface this with Black women peep everything. One of the whitest industries in America is the media industry. According to statista.com, minorities directed less than 25% of TV episodes in the year 2016-2017 at major television distributors. So, when companies parade around their diversity quotas proclaiming loud and proud that “Black Lives Matter” while upholding a standard of whiteness for years; it is hard to believe them as being earnest. From The Makers Of Jim Crow And Segregation Comes…Gaslighting! Black folks state our demands and it’s serious for about thirty minutes. Maybe even four months. Then, slowly, media companies divert their attention away from the issues for the sake of saying they did something. All so they can be on the right side of history. Image courtesy of BET Since June a plethora of media outlets have been outed for their anti-blackness. From the letters from former Bon-Appetit contributors (a cooking platform outed for taking advantage of Black voices) to voiceovers as a form of Blackface (which we outlined here). What media considers ‘promoting diversity and representation’ is really highlighting the diverse voices that media companies want to legitimize. Instead o…