 |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|||
|
||||
|
||||
|
TASK FORCE TO STUDY THE HISTORY AND LEGACY OF SLAVERY IN MARYLAND (Final Report) 1999/12/31 MdHR 991422 MdHR 991422, Image No: 115 Print image (41K) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
||||
|
||||
|
TASK FORCE TO STUDY THE HISTORY AND LEGACY OF SLAVERY IN MARYLAND (Final Report) 1999/12/31 MdHR 991422 MdHR 991422, Image No: 115 Print image (41K) |
| 106 understand that slavery was not first invented in America, it did not only victimize people of African descent, nor did it end in the entire world with the emancipation of slaves here in the United States. To the extent that the media over-communicate the association of African peoples with those who were enslaved and under-communicate the association of other people with oppressor, servant, and enslaved status, they contribute to confusion and untruths. For example, few European Americans proclaim the indentured servant status of their ancestors and few Native Americans proclaim their status as slaves and sometimes as indentured servants and such denial is often incorporated into a type of "virtual reality" that is spun out by the media. While it is easy and economical for mass media to tailor "group" messages with commercial appeal, it is important for such messages not to blur the complexity of facts that it may be more expensive, more time-consuming, and more difficult to disseminate. For example, mass media could be very effective in explaining that groups are not necessarily global and that not all members of any single ethnic or racial group should be portrayed as identical with respect to the relationships of its members to the history and legacy of slavery. |