Media and the Civil War Introduction

Introduction

Prior to the civil rights movement there was practically no national media coverage of the injustices occurring in the south. Americans living in the north were not fully aware of the cruelty and dehumanization that African Americans were enduring. In the years before the civil rights movement there were several Afro American publications that covered the horrible issues occurring in the deep south but none that commanded attention from others outside of the community. Immediately after the Brown vs. Board the national media descended on the south. Media exposure contributed greatly to the efforts and national recognition of the civil rights movement.

The media is a way to quickly an efficiently get information out about things happening in communities and throught out the world. Media can be held responsible for shaping the beliefs and concerns of a group or community. Prior to the civil rights movement the national media was not in the business of exposing the racism that was occurring in the south. Although many people knew that the south was not progressing as quickly as the rest of the country, they were completely ignorant of how bad things actually were for the African American community.

African Americans had several publications that were dedicated to the black community and keeping them informed on the injustices. Although many of the publications were written in the north, many of the subscribers were located in the south. Blacks were able to communicate and voice their opinions openly because southern whites never read their publications. As literacy in the African American community grew so did the subscriptions to the African American publication. The newspapers provide a way for

African Americans to talk politics and post social and political notices. African American publications were very beneficial within the community but did little to effect change.