Empathy and the Importance of Authentic Black Representation

At the close of Black History Month 2021, National Research Group reflects on new insights about Black representation, in entertainment and beyond.

Since 1976, the month of February has been designated a celebration of the accomplishments and history of Black people and those of African descent. Originally beginning in 1926 and only spanning a week, Black History Month was created as a way to honor the Black community and its contributions to the United States. Each year, The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) chooses a theme to focus on for the month. This year’s theme, “Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity,” explores the importance of familial love and community.

This theme is incredibly important as we look towards a future that includes positive and authentic portrayals of Black people in all forms of media. TV shows like Black-ish, Queen Sugar, and Black Lightning, which explore love, strength, and unity in Black families, are demonstrating the appeal of content that explores a Black family dynamic beyond the tired tropes viewers of all races are sick of seeing on screen.

Squashing Stereotypes and Tired Tropes

In our study, #RepresentationMatters, we found that 56% of participants believe that the representation of Black Americans in Hollywood has improved a lot since the 1960s. This belief decreases in agreement as it approaches our current time. However, there is a slight bump in the past 5 years, perhaps due to increased focus on Black representation following campaigns like #OscarsSoWhite.

While we have seen a rise in content that portrays Black Americans authentically and artfully, audiences say they still encounter racial stereotypes. Of the most harmful tropes, stereotypes that position Black characters as violent or antagonistic are seen the most frequently. We can trace these portrayals of Black Americans as violent criminals back to historically racist films like Birth of a Nation (1915). Although the racism of these types of characters has become more subtle over the past 100 years, they still reinforce a dangerous and insidious rhetoric about Black people.

Content Drives Empathy, Empathy Drives Change

Nearly all surveyed believe that content has the power to make an impact on society, with 3 in 4 also believing that portrayals of Black Americans in the media affect people’s perceptions of them in real life. Perhaps even more importantly, Black characters on screen affect Black viewers’ perceptions of themselves.

Mae Jemison, the first Black woman to travel to space, famously said that the Star Trek character Uhura inspired her to pursue her dreams of space flight. Outpourings of support for superhero flicks like Black Panther and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse reflect the community’s excitement to see characters that look like them in traditionally White-dominated genres. BlacKkKlansman and Hidden Figures have brought light to previously unknown vanguards in Black history, with the four real-life women who inspired the latter receiving Congressional gold medals following the movie’s release.

Of all the racial groups we surveyed, Black Americans were the most likely to say that they read the news “to understand how people like them are living” and “to learn about people they identify with.” This highlights the importance of empathy to the Black experience, and how connection to community acts as a unifying force for social change in the face of adversity.

This connection to community also fuels high demand for portrayals of Black happiness and success in the media. Since 2013, the Black community has placed a growing importance on Black joy, with the hashtags #BlackLove, #BlackGirlMagic, and #BlackBoyJoy amassing over 30 million posts on Instagram. Created to combat the numerous negative portrayals of the Black people, whether in the news or in entertainment, these hashtags emphasize Black experiences that aren’t rooted in discrimination, prejudice, or pain. In our #RepresentationMatters study, we’ve seen that audiences of all races are ready to see content about Black people that doesn’t focus on slavery or the civil rights movement. 83% of Americans want to watch content about Black Americans simply living their everyday lives.

Representation as Racial Justice

When asked, Black Americans pointed to these key changes as the best ways to promote authentic representation in media. Celebrating Black content that already exists and inspiring new Black creators to break into the traditionally White arts space seem to be the most effective avenues for change. In particular, affirmative action was seen as the most important offering to allow young Black people the ability to thrive, led by 82% of Overall Gen Z and 90% of Black Gen Z.

When it comes to the program and interventions that already exist, 87% of Black Americans say that they appreciate the Black Lives Matter movement and see it inspiring positive changes that will provide opportunities to Black youth in the future. With over 40 chapters around the world, BLM has certainly grown since 2013, becoming a rallying cry for the Black community and a call for solidarity among other racial groups. The movement has catalyzed complex conversations on the reality of racial discrimination, which have in turn inspired policy changes, such as shifting state funding to support social work and education, and the exoneration of wrongly-incarcerated death row inmates.

Moving forward, the media must embrace the opportunity to better represent Black Americans in all forms of content. It’s crucial to highlight more positive representations in advertising, beauty & fashion, and social media & technology, along with TV and movies, as these industries are seen as needing improvement by over 6 in 10 Americans.

Dispelling stereotypes focused on aggressive and one-dimensional Black characters is a great starting point, but as we’ve seen in the data, Americans are asking for more. Backing Black creators, amplifying unheard Black stories, and shifting the negativity narrative to highlight #BlackJoy, will all promote a more honest image of the resilient Black community.