Watching Jim Crow

Michelle Gutierrez
10-6-08
AMST 125

Watching Jim Crow:

In his book Watching Jim Crow, author Steven Classen analyzes the relationship of media and American social history. He focuses on the social conflicts and struggles during the 50s and 60s, and the ways in which they were represented on television. Through oral memoirs and recorded documents of Jackson residents, who recall the civil rights movement and television during the 50s and 60s, Classen exemplifies how blacks continue to be the subjects of marginalization and oppression. He states “Most often I was told that although the forms of oppression had changed and some opportunities had opened, the evidence of better times for African Americans was uneven and at times nonexistent. And, I was pointedly told, racial struggle continues” (20).
Steven Classen demonstrates how Mississippi Television during the 50s and 60s contributed to the oppression and segregation of African Americans out of the dominant culture. For instance, the federal courts essentially concealed all media commentaries regarding segregation and instead portrayed African Americans as being defiant of the status quo. (75). African Americans were left out of mainstream culture and were mis-represented by the media and local news. In media today, African Americans continue to deal with the negative images in which they are portrayed. They are persistently viewed as thugs, drug dealers and prostitutes. Classen makes note of this when he states, the struggle over representation on local television screens, and the rights of citizens to represent such concerns before the industry and state, today remain vital activities to democracy, even as they were decades ago” (6).
In focusing on Medgar Evers, a civil rights leader, along with political movements such as the Jackson Movement, Classen underlines the relationship between civil rights and media representation. In presenting readers with a historical context, he focuses on segregationist groups such as Citizen’s Council in hopes of keeping African Americans out of Jackson’s television by promoting segregation. WLBT was a television show established in Jackson, Mississippi in 1953 but through unfortunate circumstances lost its license due to demands from civil right groups. Classen concludes his book by affirming that television should be looked as a channel in changing individual’s perception of race and class. He states, “The stories of struggle surrounding Jackson television are multiple and rich with meanings, and they provide narratives of hope for progressive movements alongside clear acknowledgements of the barriers and obstacles to such change” (29).