For the last few years or so, it seems that Democrats and the mainstream media have finally caught on to the importance of the black vote. Though this has been long overdue, it is right on time for the 2020 election cycle. Not only will black voters play a definitive role in deciding local, state, and national elections, but there is also the possibility that there will be one or more black candidates in the race.
This emphasizes why the media needs to invest in hearing more from black voices— from voters, journalists, politicians, activists, and black communities in general—in order to understand issues that are important to us, what’s motivating us, and our impact on American politics.
Sadly, it seems to be a tough sell to many networks and organizations that say they value diversity but can’t seem to actually live up to it. This is exactly why CBS News came under fire this past weekend when it announced its 2020 election team—without a single black campaign reporter or associate producer to be found.
To be clear, it appears that there is a handful of reporters of color on the CBS roster. And appearance is subjective, because it is very possible for someone to be ethnically “diverse” (Middle Eastern, Hispanic, Native American, etc.) and still identify as or be racialized as white. While this apparent diversity is a good start, networks would do well to remember that hiring people of color is not a substitute for hiring, nor an excuse to exclude black people.
Black people have a very specific relationship to history in the United States. Our cultures are diverse and our experiences are unique. And while we do not all hold the same political views, it is critical that black voters are understood in all our nuance and complexity. Hiring black journalists isn’t a one-step or sufficient solution for cultural competence in covering the black electorate. But it can be a start. Too often mainstream media is ignorant (whether this is intentional or not) of black cultures and lazily portrays us in gross generalizations and stereotypes. But in 2019, especially given what’s happening socially and politically, we can and should do better, including more diverse voices and perspectives in our political coverage.
These tweets sum it up perfectly:
While the social media backlash against the CBS team was swift and far-reaching, many folks pushed back against the idea that having black reporters and producers even matters. They listed all kinds of very stereotypical reasons why the team looks the way it does—positing everything from “maybe there weren’t any qualified black candidates” to “it’s racist to demand quotas” to “but there are people of color on the team, so isn’t that enough?” All of these are excuses which prevent us from doing the hard work of looking at inequality in systems and institutions, especially when it comes to resources and hiring.
This excuse was by far the worst (and likely the most racist):
Nice try, Jesse. It’s not like there isn’t a long, storied history of the black press dating back centuries, with an entire organization (the National Association of Black Journalists) with literally thousands of members who are interested in journalism. Hell, we know there are black reporters out there—Donald Trump attacks them every chance he gets!
But since Jesse (who, of course, is a Fox News contributor) and his right-wing following think there’s no such thing as black journalists, let’s prove them wrong.
Who are some of your favorite black journalists, reporters, commentators, and political writers? They can be well-known or not. It would be great to get a list started so we can all learn about the great work being done across the country.
And, hey, we may even end up sending our list to CBS. Looks like they could use all the help they can get!