Read All About It: The Impact Of The Civil Rights Movement On Hollywood As Told By The African American Media, 1915-1971

Abstract

During the early twentieth century Hollywood, which encompasses the television and film industries, unceasingly produced inaccurate and racially offensive depictions of African Americans. This study examines the account, given by the African American Media, of the ongoing dispute over black imagery between Hollywood, black entertainers and the Civil Rights Movement. This thesis also demonstrates that the heightened voice of the Black Media ultimately helped to push for the infusing of black presence in popular culture with the goal of depicting the possibilities of an integrated American society. Through examining the publications of the African American Media regarding black imagery in Hollywood, during the Civil Rights Movement, I hope to emphasize the critical role that the African American Media played in helping to dismantle Hollywood's manufactured version of African American life.