The Race and Media Reader

The Race and Media Reader is a comprehensive, interdisciplinary anthology of the most important classic and contemporary writings on media and race. Mass media have been intertwined with issues of race and ethnicity since their earliest beginnings, from the blackface minstrelsy of the first sound film—Al Jolsen’s The Jazz Singer—to the multiracial (or post-racial?) identities of contemporary popular culture figures like Tiger Woods, Halle Barry, or Keanu Reeves. The readings collected here showcase the legacy of racism and the myriad forms of resistance to it that are routinely played out in media.

Gilbert B. Rodman is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Minnesota, where his research focuses on critical media studies, cultural studies, popular culture, communication technologies, intellectual property, and the politics of race and ethnicity.