In a rapidly evolving world, technology has taken the center stage. Media, more specifically social media, has changed the way humans communicate. Media including news media has a large influence on our schema’s of the world. For example, prior to vast advancements in technology a person would have to listen to the entire speech of the president but now it’s easier to follow the trends on Twitter and still be informed on the important issues of the speech. Recently, newsworthy events specifically targeting African-American communities have been brought to light .The nation has become fragmented over decisions such as the Trayvon Martin case over racial borers reminiscent to the post-Civil War era.

The best way to attack these controversial topics which have underlying race issues is to focus not on the way we classify ourselves by race but as one under the human race. I personally feel these heated topics will only be resolved if the spotlight is shifted from the aspects which divide us to those which unite us. The media’s influence has given young African-American males a negatives stereotype of being aggressive and uneducated. Regardless of what happened that night with Trayvon and Zimmerman, media has placed the spotlight on race and doing this divides us. It doesn’t take into account profession, income or sex, all African-Americans are grouped as being aggressive and impulsive as Trayvon Martin, which has created difficulty in interacting with non-African Americans. I feel the media has done this purposefully and has made people of African descent ”the other” segmenting them physically and psychologically.

Labeling groups of people as “the other” is used to dehumanize them and this has been done to people of African descent. Recently tensions between Africans and authority figures have increased. This has an effect making relations between police officers and people more hostile. If I had a problem in my neighborhood, I would solve it myself instead of getting the police involved. This means citizens of all races but especially Blacks have lost their trust in the police department. Thus the cities become even more divided.

I’ve noticed that this labeling of Blacks has become destructive and more effective because we embrace it. While being proud of heritage is commendable sometimes accepting the label makes Blacks seem weak. Every time there is an issue we scapegoat our race which is not always a great solution. For example, whenever there is any major event involving Blacks we have the same "leaders" rally for justice or equality. The problem is these leaders such as Jessie Jackson or Al Sharpton have been using the same method since the 1960s and while the root issues is the same, the overall causes and effects of race have changed. During the 1960s the push was more towards rights for African-Americans and now the push should be more for people as a whole and unity. By using these outdated ideas it keeps people of color slightly behind in their thinking. Thus instead of evolving their ideology to better fit the current problems, a focus is placed on the wrong issues. These speeches and rallies are having an inverse effect.

Now, I do feel we as people of color need to fight back against injustice and discrimination within the community. At times, race is the main issue in these disputes. The concept of peaceful protest and rallies are great however we need to find a more effective way of bringing light to these issues. Usually, these protests get chaotic and lose their intent. The message is ruined and makes us seem uncivilized or savage. This is our time to fight back for the treatment of our ancestors, but we have to find safer and more effective methods. If we can stand up together we can cause change but everyone has to be on the same page. The negative stigma of African Americans can be removed if we all contribute.