By Barrington M. Salmon
Contributing Writer
LOS ANGELES — A robust and trusted independent media will be critical to navigating the increased hate and racism that Black and brown people are sure to encounter in Donald Trump’s second presidential term, a trio of Black leaders told The Wave recently.
Speaking in videotaped commentaries, U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and civil rights activist Benjamin Chavis said Black news outlets like the L.A. Wave will play a key role in helping disenfranchised people survive the next four years.
The Wave will co-host a free online forum from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Dec. 17 to discuss strategies on navigating hate in 2025 and beyond. To register, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/stopping-the-hate-navigating-racism-in-todays-polarized-society-tickets-1095745487249?aff=oddtdtcreator
“Black media is much more sensitive, much more objective, much more truthful and much more accountable for reporting the news,” said Chavis, president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, a trade association. “But Black media also advocates for freedom, justice and equality.”
Bass agreed, stating that Black media also can help overcome a burgeoning cycle of “intergenerational trauma” Black people have faced.
“We’re dealing with the negative psychological impact of being exposed to hate, to racism and discrimination,” said Bass, a former civic activist and member of Congress. Black media can play a key role in combatting that trauma, she said.
“That’s why I can’t emphasize enough how important Black media is in this time, in terms of putting out our stories [and] talking about our needs and our perspectives,” she added. “We need Black stories put out through our lens — our stories, our news, our perspective, not through an ideological lens.”
Waters noted that the divisions that played out during this year’s presidential election revolved largely around antipathy toward disenfranchised people, especially immigrants.
“I can’t help but be stunned to hear how Mr. Trump speaks about immigrants. He calls them murderers, thieves, criminals, the insane and making Americans afraid about why the government is letting these people in,” Waters said.
“They are not all rapists, murderers and the insane — these are simply people trying to live a simple life,” she said. “They are living in hell and want to come over here and get any job they can get.”
Interviewed as part of the state funded Stop The Hate campaign, Bass, Waters and Chavis spoke of America’s sordid racial past and more overt acts of racism in recent years. Bass said much of the recent hatred is a knee-jerk reaction to Black progress.
“I always say that I think there is a large percentage of the United States that has never recovered from the fact that there was a Black family that resided in the White House,” Bass said.
Chavis agreed, adding that collective issues of diversity, equity and inclusion fuel anxiety — and overt reaction — among many people in the status quo.
“There is an unprecedented rise in racism, antisemitism, violence and hate as the nation becomes more diverse. This diversity has instilled fear,” said Chavis, former executive director of the national NAACP. “So instead of embracing diversity, some fear it — and out of these fears come the bedrock, the crucible for hate and anger to emerge.”
While it’s not Black people’s sole responsibility to stop hate, the three leaders said Black people must continue the fight waged by generations of activists before them.
“We can’t give up. We have to admit it’s here, that it’s an engrained system and will not go away easily,” Waters said. “Hate is not the right thing, it’s dangerous. We’re all human beings. The same blood runs through our veins.”
Barrington M. Salmon is a freelance writer for Wave Newspapers.
This resource was supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Libraryvia California Black Media as part of the Stop the Hate Program. The program is supported by partnership with California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.
