I believe Martin A. Berger’s argument is accurate and I agree because there are many evidences throughout history that have proven this argument. I believe that Berger is right about the white media giving more insight on black victims than black political actions because black Americans have been going through injustice and abuse for centuries. Those who are not familiar with black history may not agree, but it even is shown in today’s society. Berger’s argument of black Americans being shown more as victims rather then activist leaders is important because it gives more focus on the issue of racism that still exists in today’s society.

According to Berger’s argument, I agree that white editors photograph Black people as victims instead of photographing them as people standing up for their rights. They never show Black people’s tough side. Instead, they make it seem as though they need the white man to feel bad for them to help fix the problems occurring-When this is not the truth. There has been plenty of protest of independent, decisive moments that black people are standing up for their fundamental rights and, most importantly, now for the violent acts in our justice system, for example, in the George Floyd case. Black protesters have taken the streets to speak up about police officers’ cruel and dangerous aggression towards them. Although Martin A. Berger says graphic photos get more attention than pictures of peaceful protests, I think this is evolving. Now we are seeing photographs of some police officers taking the knee with protesters. Yes, black people have been victims of inequality and racism for centuries now. However, the media needs to stop painting it as “we must help these people because they need our help” but instead paint the picture that these are fundamental human rights that black people have been neglected for years now, and that is not okay.

Throughout history, editors and photographers have played a big role in how we view society as a whole. News and journalists are the only people who can give and shows the truth of what is happing in the world, however, you can never know whether what you are seeing is the whole truth. In” Seeing the Race”, Martin Berger reveals how during the 1950s and 1960s photos of black people during the civil rights movement were used for comforting white people. Because most of the editors and photographers were white, they tended to show black people as the victims and can’t fight for their rights. Berger stated “ In depicting whites in charge, the photographs allowed white viewers to feel secure, and therefore more amenable to change, and in illustrating blacks as victims, they encouraged white sympathy for blacks, and hence more support for legislative action” However, they never showed the strong side of them. their perseverance and the protest to get their rights. I agree with Martin Berger because this kind of strategies still happing in social media today. For example, the death of  George Floyd where they only showed the violence that black has been causing in some protests and spread it everywhere but they never showed the other peaceful protest. This needs to change. The media need to cover what is happening and show everything 

During the 1950’s and 1960’s the media reported the news a little more restricted than what were used to now. In”Seeing the Race”, Martin Berger talks about the way media handled their storytelling through photos. He says that the white reporters were often showcasing pictures that displays the African American people in an “oppressed”stale. On one side of the token I would say I agree with him. Looking at the images that occupied these articles we’re extremely bias. The images served clear messages for who they were written for. But then on the other side I feel as though you as the viewer or person looking for information find what you seek. Berger mentioned that other writers found images that showed the African American people in a motivational and peaceful state. The way a person thinks, or a person viewpoint, in a certain topic can direct the way they tell a story. As in media alot of what we read may be true stories but the way the person telling the story can get different views. Every writer has a secret duty in writing, to appeal to a certain audience. The audience may not always agree on the images we believe is right. And thats where an individual’s personal preference comes into play.

I agree with Martin A. Berger he definitely has a point about the racial tensions that are present all around us in America.  He really digs deep into the oppressive structure of our society even today.  The media should show more Poc’s in prominent and influential positions and call out those institutions that are detrimental to the further advancement of Poc’s in our country.  I believe that the news and media today is to overly concerned with pushing their own specific narrative they should be more on the side of giving people a more honest depiction of what is actually happening in America.

Martin A. Berger is certainly right about race because he delves into its effects on blacks and even nonwhites. He wants to influence people to eliminate racial discrimination by clarifying another side of history. Although the issue of race has been hidden until now, we can use different ways of thinking like Berger and influence the consciousness of modern people by analyzing the positive side of history, to eliminate the concept of race and realize the real racial fairness.

I concur with Berger’s theory about how the use of certain photographs was meant to appeal to white viewers because it helps demonstrate how white people have tried to maintain the power and supremacy they have had over black individuals throughout history.

Oppressive and racist institutions still shape the material conditions of all POC today. All while inadvertently benefitting from white press, who’s intentions were to gather sympathy for POC from white readers. As Berger puts it, “To the degree that narratives illustrating white power over blacks helped make the images nonthreatening to whites, the photographs impeded efforts to enact—or even imagine—reforms that threatened white racial power.”. This is all precisely why we need more mainstream coverage of the opposition. White media should feature more POC in positions of power, and/or feature demonstrations against racist institutions. It should demand for assimilation, a call for action. With the meteoric rise of the reactionary ALM movement, or how BLM protests are constantly invalidated and made to look like mindless violence on the news. Today’s media is being overtly biased and dead set on preserving the status quo. My proposed remedy is for mainstream media to become active in the public condemning of racism and oppression of all forms. 

What do you make of Berger’s argument? Do you agree, disagree, or something in between? Use the information from Chapter 4 of They Say/I Say and the “Sheridan Baker Thesis Machine” and write a thesis statement in which you take a position on Berger’s argument.

I quite frankly stand with Berger’s argument because throughout the reading and the photographs shown to coincide with them it is relevant to note that even when this time period was happening black violence and racial anxieties were on a high rise. As stated by Berger, editors who were mainly white at the time only used images to their advantage to basically feed to the narrative to make black people seem as if they were helpless and depended on others to fight with them as they fight the struggles of an unfair justice system and government entirely. That wasn’t the case though as many images started to flood that were never used to show how much power a protest held for the fight for equal rights for their own people and how much bravery was actually seen among these people. As of today, racial anxieties and police brutality/violence have been very noticeable on social media surround the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, etc. This narrative that Berger’s pointed out is still seen very much alive today as we see new images of the BLM protests. News outlets make the protesters seem violent and aggressive looters when in reality they are peaceful by taking many actions such as silent protests, petitions, organizations, etc. But, that’s not the narrative news outlets want people to see because it wouldn’t get as much attention. This is why I frankly agree with Berger’s outlook on the way people are perceived by news outlets and how things may seem one way when there is another side of the story.