STUDY GUIDE Spring 2012 CCJ 4662 K RUSSELL BROWN COLOR OF CRIME Please Note The following questions are derived from Kathryn Russell Brown s The Color of Crime Unless otherwise noted all statements should be answered according to Russell Brown s position These questions are not intended to provide an exhaustive review or summary of the information that you will be examined on This is supplementary material and should be used in conjunction with class notes discussions and a detailed reading of the chapters This study guide alone will not adequately prepare you for the exam KEY Side note A I American Indian N A Native Americans A A Asian American Also sometimes you will just see the word Blacks instead of using African Americans I m only putting the word blacks for shorthand not because I am racially insensitive and A A I have already designated to mean Asian American Thanks Chapter one 1 How does Russell describe media race isms Although you do see minorities throughout the media more frequently than 30yrs ago the small parts they do get to be on only focus in one particular area that feeds into the beliefs and stereotypes that we as a society hold onto today The only person that is shown consistently are white males Native Americans are rarely even viewed on television and most can t name a famous NA person Latinos are merely talked about more in theory than actually being present Blacks are more the subjects of the news The main point is different minority groups are rarely actually seen on television and are more talked about in a manner that white people want to shape them to be 2 How does Russell describe the progress that the media has made in it portrayal of people of color She goes on to describe that although one would think that there has been a lot of progress due to the huge increase of minority faces when compared to 50yrs ago it can actually be seen as regressive More can be less is her quote when talking about African Americas in the media Blacks are shown predominantly as criminals Asians as sexy and exotic women or nerdy and smart men If you look just at sheer numbers she goes on to write about then there would be a significant amount of progress but if you analyze the parts they play in and what roles they take it would appear to be quite the opposite 3 According to Russell what were the startling statistics on American Indians reported by the 2004 Justice Department study report It was reported that American Indians are twice as likely to become victimized from violent crimes than African Americans and are the most likely to be victims of interracial crime Different races EX white on black Yet there is very little discussion about violence and crime when the subject of American Indians does happen to appear in the media 4 What is the primary media talk about Native Americans according to Russell The primary talk centers on gambling casinos or the issue of using Indian names and symbols for athletic teams and mascots EX Atlanta Braves with their Tomahawk Chop hand signal 5 How does Russell define the term Redskin It refers to the early practice of hunting and killing Indians and offering their scalps as proof for the payment of the bounty That is one reason why there is much debate to sports team names such as the Washington Redskins 6 What is the Nike Air Native N7 It was a shoe that Nike introduced that was specifically designed for Native Americans it incorporated arrowheads and feathers There was much controversy over them and in some ways furthers the belief that A I are separate from everyone else 7 According to Russell what percentage of American Indians in the US live on reservations Based on the 2000 census Native Americans account for of the U S population or 25 of the A I in America live on reservations In the 2000 consensus more than 2 million people viewed themselves as N A less than 1 of the total U S population 8 Asian Americans account for of the U S population 4 9 Which Asian sex is more prevalent in the media according to Russell Female 10 How are Tiger Woods and Keanu Reeves similar according to Russell They are both Asian even though it is not common knowledge about Reeves having Asian Roots 11 What does Russell mean by her statement that Asian American has a monolithic meaning This was discussed when talking about the lack of American Asians in the media This lack of American Asian representation in the media creates this monolithic meaning of the category of Asian Americans meaning that all Asians tend to be fit in this one box fits all category all Asians together in one massive block It hides the fact that there are more Asian countries than just China Japan and Korea This monolithic meaning doesn t highlight the differences between the several Asian countries rather than just puts them all in one category Asian 12 What is the model minority myth A A have been designated to be the model minority According to this myth A A are hardworking smart and respectful of authority Although A A dismiss this myth it is quite rare to see dumb Asians in the media 13 According to Russell Latinos make up of the U S population 14 14 Who is Bill Richardson The governor of New Mexico and also ran as a democratic presidential candidate back in 2008 15 Which ethnic group is second in line as the face of the feared American criminal Latinos being second blacks being first 16 How many Black newspapers are there today according to Russell More than 75 17 What is the relationship between rap hip hop and blackness Rap lyrics were very bold and angry and the videos released to such rap songs had women barely clothed young men holding guns and lots of simulated sex These images became the visual representation of blacks via the media Even today hip hop emphasizes on money cars crime women etc and is continually shaping blackness for many people especially non blacks this stream of entertainment is viewed as showing the true picture of Black America 18 Whites are responsible in raw numbers for what percentage of total arrests and imprisonment 70 of people arrested were white 19 How are the media images of blackness primarily depicted Although the media representations of blacks have grown more diverse they are still face of crime in America Television s images of black deviance is hard to impossible to ignore and is why the myth of the criminalblackman exists 20 What is the myth of the criminalblackman Due to the media s abundance of criminal black males images we