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Race and Media: Kamala Harris's Fight for Fair Representation
Episode 170 • 12th September 2024 • TonyTidbit: A Black Executive Perspective • TonyTidbit ™
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Episode Audio Link: https://podcast.ablackexec.com/episode/Race and Media: Kamala Harris's Fight for Fair Representation

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In this episode of Need to Know, Dr. Nsenga Burton discusses the crucial issue of race and media within the context of the current U.S. presidential election. Highlighting Vice President Kamala Harris's cautious approach to media interviews, Dr. Burton explores the biases and narrative control within mainstream media outlets. The episode brings to light the distinct challenges Black women face in media representation and urges the importance of choosing fair and accurate media channels for interviews to prevent misrepresentation. Tune in for an insightful discussion on the intersections of race, gender, and media.

▶︎ In This Episode

  1. 00:00: Introduction to Need to Know
  2. 00:20: Race and Media in the U.S. Presidential Election
  3. 00:30: Kamala Harris and Media Coverage
  4. 01:21: Media's Treatment of Black Women
  5. 03:15: Comparison with Coverage of White Women
  6. 04:54: The Right to Control the Narrative
  7. 05:42: Freedom of Speech and Media Responsibility
  8. 07:12: Conclusion and Final Thoughts
  9. 08:08: Closing Remarks

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Transcripts

BEP Narrator:

A Black Executive Perspective now presents Need to Know

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with the award winning hyphenated Dr.

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Nsenga Burton.

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Dr.

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Burton.

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What do we need to know?

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Dr. Nsenga Burton: Good afternoon

and welcome to Need to Know with Dr.

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Nsenga Burton.

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I am she.

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Uh, today we're going to talk about race

and media, and we're going to talk about

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it through the context of this, uh, U.

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S.

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presidential election

that's happening right now.

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Uh, and what's interesting, what a lot of

people are talking about is Vice President

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Kamala Harris, who is now the presidential

nominee for the Democratic Party, has

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been slow to Accept an interview interview

requests from mainstream media, and a

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lot of people have a lot to say about it.

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But what's interesting about it is that

the way that she has been covered by

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the mainstream media has been less than

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demonstrative of a media that.

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That intends to be impartial and balanced

and actually fair when interviewing her.

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So, and it's not just mainstream media,

you know, we had an issue with earlier

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this month, but to stay on topic.

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This idea that black women in general, and

this particular black woman specifically

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should show up to get beaten up is false.

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You don't have to do that.

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And she is in a position to, you know,

write her own ticket in that way, right?

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To say who she will interview with

who she won't she's interviewed

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with many people in the press.

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She's interviewed with National

Newspaper Publishers Association.

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She's interviewed with

NABJ before previously.

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She's interviewed with lots of folks and

sat down 60 minutes or what have you.

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Time magazine, all of these

different types of publications,

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but what is happening now is that

she is standing on her truth.

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And the truth is that many media

organizations have failed to cover.

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Her contributions in any significant way,

even as vice president, and currently

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as the presumptive, I mean, not the

presumptive, even as vice president

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and currently as the presidential

nominee for the Democratic Party.

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And so.

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Harris's career Harris.

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And so Harris's team is being, is moving

really slowly and being very decisive in

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deciding who will get this first interview

and deciding when it will happen, and

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really taking control of the narrative.

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Because what happens, particularly

as it relates to black people in

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general and black women specifically

in media, people are often.

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Okay, with creating their

own narratives of us, right?

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They decide who we are, what we will

be and what they want to show about us.

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And there's very little protection

given to us in the ways that are

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often given to other people in

general, and white women specifically.

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So, you know, people

aren't really guarding, um.

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Our presence or, or protecting us in

a way that will protect our image.

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So for example, um, you know,

UGA won a major championship.

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Y'all are like, which one?

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'cause they went all the time, . But,

um, there was a tragedy at the

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end of, um, the championship win.

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Um.

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The year before last, and a

couple of players were killed.

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Um, a couple of, uh, employees

were killed and there has been very

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little coverage of those employees.

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Who were killed, who were white women, um,

in this accident, in this car accident,

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um, you may not even know what I'm talking

about, because there's been very little

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national coverage of this event, and

there have been very few subsequent follow

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ups, uh, in terms of what's happening

with the story now, what's happening

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with the case now, how did UGA handle

it, what policies did they put in place

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to prevent this from happening again?

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Again, are there going to be lawsuits from

the families, all of the things that, you

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know, you shouldn't have to read the AJC

to find out about it should be a national

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news, but I really believe they are really

invested and that would be members of

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media are invested and protecting the

image of these young white women who.

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Um, we're involved in this really tragic

incident, so that type of protection

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is not really extended to black women.

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I really believe that if they were black,

we would know everything about them.

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We know your parents are, we know

everything about them, every step

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that they made, everything they've

done or what have you, which leads

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me back to what the topic is, right?

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This idea about black women

just showing up to get beat up.

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Why?

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Why is that the expectation for us?

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And when you have the opportunity

and the power to say, No,

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I'm not going to do that.

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You can.

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And so we should not demonize

Vice President Harris because she

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is taking her time to decide who

she wants to be interviewed by

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because she wants a fair shot.

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She doesn't want someone else

to take a narrative or to

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create a narrative for her.

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She wants to speak.

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For herself.

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And so when we think about race and media,

when we think about gender and media,

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and we think about the ways in which

people are represented and, you know, I

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will say this too, white women are often

represented as pious and, you know, in

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need of protection, even in fiction.

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Um, and so some of that feeds into why

and how, um, they are portrayed, but.

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You know, people are

individuals, they have a right

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to represent themselves in media.

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They have a right to say who and will they

who they will and won't interview with.

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They have a right to say

when they will do it.

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And particularly when you're

in a media climate that is

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very negative and vitriolic.

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For example, University of South

Carolina, which I'm shocked by.

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And I know people who know

South Carolina like, why?

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Because I just really believe that I

can't believe that they're allowing

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this group of white supremacists to

have a roast of Vice President Kamala

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Harris and to let that go unchecked.

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Um, yes, freedom of speech exists, but,

uh, freedom of speech isn't always free.

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And typically we have a roast.

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The person is there.

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They are there.

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And they have some type of relationship

so that they can understand the

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jokes and they can be a part of the

jokes or what have you, but to have

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someone just sit there and make racist

and sexist jokes about, and we're

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going to say it's racist and sexist

because the people who are doing it,

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whose names I will never say, um.

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That's who they are.

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You know, they, if you look

at the comments on the stories

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that people are talking about,

um, they're using the F word.

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They're using the N word.

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These are people who have been

ostensibly, and I could be wrong.

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I'm hoping I'm wrong because I was

shocked when I saw it, when I saw the

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advertisement, but, um, ostensibly have

been given carte blanche to go and roast,

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roast the current vice president, um, and

Democratic presidential nominee, um, And

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with no response or ability for anybody

to really stand and or stand up for her.

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So, in conclusion, I would just

say this when you exist in a media

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environment that has historically.

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And currently refuses to play

the game in a fair way, right?

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Refuses to give you access.

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Refuses to allow you to tell your own

narrative and to share your story.

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And allows others to demonize and tear you

apart at any given moment for any reason.

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Then no, you shouldn't just

say yes to any interview.

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And you shouldn't just do it

because it's expected of you.

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You should take your time and make sure

that you're going to go with an outlet,

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a media outlet, that is going to be fair.

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They're going to be accurate

in their editing and reporting.

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Um, and they're going to

allow you to set the tone.

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And to tell the story that you need

to tell and to answer the questions in

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a way that they need to be answered.

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So that's all I have for you.

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Um, so just keep that in mind as we go

go about, you know, Talking bad about

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people demonizing people saying what

they should and shouldn't do Um, it's

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easy to say that when you are not bearing

the brunt of racism sexism and misogyny

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every single day of your life All right.

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So without further ado, I

wish you a wonderful day.

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Tune in next week for a black executive

perspective podcast with me, Dr.

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Nsenga Burton for Need to Know.

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Bye.

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BEP Narrator: A Black

Executive Perspective.

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