The Myth of Post-Racial Television

With the achievements of the Civil Rights Movement and the progress in blatant acts of racism, the manner in which race is discussed in America continuously changes. After the election of President Barack Obama in 2008, America shifted into the discussion of the post-racial, an environment that is devoid of all racial prejudice. W. Ralph Eubanks' defines post-racial as either the point "where race is no longer an issue or an impediment to progress in American society" or "a color-blind society where race is not an issue." For some critics, this view of America grows increasingly popular. For others, it is a damaging myth that adds complex barriers to the way race is addressed consequently prolonging new and pre-existing racial issues. Post-racial discourse questions whether African Americans are finally equal. Dissecting media's treatment of race, specifically in television, reveals that America is far from post-racial. The history of African Americans on television is a long list of issues in casts, roles, and under-representation. Decoding the ways in which race is handled in prime time television series throughout Obama's presidency leads to insight on why the idea of a post-racial America results in such polarizing opinions. While television networks are diversifying their casts and placing African Americans in lead roles in order to silence racial tension, issues of race resurface and are projected on screen in the form of different conversations such as work, class, and romantic relationships. Thus, post-racialism is more accurately defined as an America that diversifies its media and its politics in order to cover the problems with race that are still pervasive and identifiable in any realm of American culture making it much more difficult to tackle them.