There’s a new exhibit on display at the Stone Center Library!
Our current exhibit highlights Black superheroes in comics and media, addressing how important race representation is in media.
In 2016, only 29.2% of speaking roles in movies were roles for people of color – even though people of color make up almost 40% of the population of the United States. Black characters represented only 13.6% of speaking roles, while Asian and Hispanic characters made up 5.7 and 3.1% of speaking roles, respectively. Only 7% of films had a cast that accurately reflected the racial and ethnic diversity of the United States; one study found that over 20% of films had no Black characters with dialogue.
Seeing characters who look like them has been shown to promote the development of a healthy racial identity in children and young adults. When young adults see people of color in fiction who are successful, intelligent, and happy, it teaches them that they, too, can be all of those things and more.
“This is how representation works: you see someone (real or fictional) and you feel inspired to do what they do. It may not necessarily be the exact same thing, but you feel bold enough to take a leap of faith: “If they can do it, so can I.”” – Jamie Broadnax, Vox
Interested? Curious to learn more? Check out some of these resources on race and representation, available right here in the Stone Center Library! And don’t forget to come see the full exhibit in person!
- Brown, Jeffrey A. Black Superheroes, Milestone Comics, and Their Fans. University Press of Mississippi, 2001.
- Call Number PN6725 .B76 2001
- Entman, Robert M., and Andrew Rojecki. The Black Image in the White Mind: Media and Race in America. University of Chicago Press, 2001.
- Call Number P94.5.A372 U55 2001
- George, Nelson. Blackface: Reflections on African-Americans and the Movies. Cooper Square Press, 2002.
- Call Number PN1995.9.N4 G46 2002
- Gray, Herman. Cultural Moves: African Americans and the Politics of Representation. University of California Press, 2005.
- Call Number PN1992.8.A34 G68 2005
- Guerrero, Ed. Framing Blackness: The African American Image in Film. Temple University Press, 1993.
- Call Number PN1995.9.N4 G84 1993
- Howard, Sheena C., and Ronald L. Jackson. Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation. Bloomsbury, 2013.
- Call Number PN6725 .B56 2013
- Keim, Curtis A. Mistaking Africa: Curiosities and Inventions of the American Mind. Westview Press, 2014.
- Call Number DT38.7 .K45 2014
- Lee, A. Designs of Blackness: Mappings in the Literature and Culture of Afro-America. Pluto Press, 1998.
- Call Number PS366.A35 L44 1998
- Nama, Adilifu. Super Black: American Pop Culture and Black Superheroes. University of Texas Press, 2011.
- Call Number PN6725 .N32 2011
- Rocchio, Vincent F. Reel Racism: Confronting Hollywood’s Construction of Afro-American Culture. Westview Press, 2000.
- Call Number PN1995.9.N4 R59 2000
- Smith, Valerie. Representing Blackness: Issues in Film and Video. Rutgers University Press, 1997.
- Call Number PN1995.9.N4 R47 1997
