Virtually every time cable news channels criticize Black culture - even when the targets aren't criminals - we hear the word "thug." But how often does the word come up when the media talks about young white people?
During a segment on the Baltimore police murder of Freddie Gray, CNN's Erin Burnett asked City Councilmember Carl Stokes if "thug" is an okay word to use. He replied, "Of course it's not the right word to call our children... Just call them n-----s. No, we don't have to call them by names such as that."
No less than former CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien also said the t-word is the new n-word: "Journalists should think about a word that actually doesn't have a lot of nuance and isn't specific, but somehow seems to be used a lot when talking about African-Americans."
The Rev. Jamal Bryant, a prominent Baltimore pastor, agreed: "You don't call six police officers who kill a man without probable cause 'thugs,' but children who are frustrated and don't have an outlet, you call them 'thugs.' 'Thugs' is the 21st century word for the n-word. And it is repulsive and it is offensive to every person who is a parent trying to raise children interpreting what's taking place in this hour."
The media shapes our language, and we need to demand better. Tell CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and other cable news executives: No more racial slurs, even unintentional ones! Drop the word "thug" from your broadcasts!
Ban the word "thug" from your broadcasts.
The research is in regarding the impact of stereotypical, lopsided media images of Black people on the perceptions and implicit biases of audiences. Yet, too often, your network is a haven for hosts and commentators who use coded terms like “thug” to demonize Black youths.
As a renowned and respected news source, you have a responsibility to forge content that presents fair, humanizing images of Black people. So long as you continue to provide a platform for misinformation and hate, you are fueling a hostile, racist climate that threatens the lives of Black communities nationwide.
That’s why I urge you to commit to stop criminalizing Black youth by dropping "thug" from their reporting.
(Petition language borrowed from our friends at Color of Change)
