The Assassination of the Black Male Image - Softcover

Hutchinson, Earl Ofari

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0684836572 ISBN 13: 9780684836577

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 1997

Synopsis

In The Assassination of the Black Male Image, noted political analyst and media critic Dr. Earl Ofari Hutchinson offers a searing, controversial indictment of our society’s attitudes toward black men.

The black male image, he argues, has been battered, maligned, and assaulted by academics, the press, and Hollywood, as well as by some black rappers, comedians, feminists, filmmakers, and novelists—many of whom he accuses of reinforcing, and profiting from, ethnic and sexual stereotypes.

Offering both a wide historical perspective and acute insights into such racially charged events as the O. J. Simpson trial, the Clarence Thomas hearings, and the Million Man March, Hutchinson brilliantly counters the image of the black male as a figure entrenched in crime, drugs, and violence. At the same time, he issues a deeply moving call to rethink the way we view African-American men.

About this title

About the Author:

Earl Ofari Hutchinson, PhD, is a prominent media critic and political analyst. He writes a syndicated biweekly column for 200 newspapers and magazines nationwide.

From Kirkus Reviews:

An African-American lecturer and commentator demands a more balanced portrayal of black men. An earlier self-published version of this book by Hutchinson, who commented on the O.J. Simpson trial for CBS News, sold 30,000 copies, perhaps accounting for this breakthrough into a major publishing house (his previous books came out from small presses). But the first few chapters, each of which is really an independent essay, offer few clues to the volume's popularity. In a style reminiscent of the same Rush Limbaugh patter that he trashes in one of his essays, Hutchinson rails and hectors, ignores sources that do not support his theories, and interjects snide italicized asides. There is, however, a powerful cumulative effect to Hutchinson's writing that makes his central thesis difficult to dismiss. He argues that the overwhelming mass media image of black men is of evil incarnate, and that Americans--including many black women--are ready to pounce any time a black man slips up, from O.J. Simpson to Michael Jackson to Clarence Thomas to Louis Farrakhan. The vast majority of black men, who do not deal drugs, beat women, abandon their families, or evade employment, are virtually ignored. The scapegoating of black men for society's ills lets the government off the hook for economic policies destructive of blue- collar jobs; it also leads to disproportionate punishment of black lawbreakers, distorts public policy, deepens racial divides, and worst of all, becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If Americans think that all black men are stupid, he writes, ``there's no need to build more schools.'' If all black men are seen as lazy, ``there's no need to spend more on job and skills training and entrepreneurial programs.'' Hutchinson demands that black men be transformed from the ``universal bogeyman'' to ``human beings.'' His case is sometimes overstated but cannot easily be overlooked. (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0684836572
• ISBN 13: 9780684836577
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208