Black Identities and Media in the Twenty-First Century

Sheryl Kennedy Haydel (Edited by), David Stamps (Edited by), Robert Mann (Series edited by), Jasmine Banks (Contributions by), KáLyn Coghill (Contributions by), N’Dea I. Drayton (Contributions by), Mel Monier (Contributions by), Rachel Grant (Contributions by), Taryn K. Myers (Contributions by), Aisha Powell (Contributions by), Sharifa Simon-Roberts (Contributions by), Maurika Smutherman (Contributions by), Danielle K. Brown (Contributions by), Gheni Platenburg (Contributions by)

9780807186114

Hardback, published 30 June 2026

280 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.562 kg

Black Identities and Media in the Twenty-First Century presents original scholarly essays, drawn from a range of theory-based applications and methodologies, that analyze media representations, effects, and practices relating to Black communities and their varying identities, with particular attention to attributes such as gender, sexuality, class, and ability status. By surveying newsprint, television, social media, podcasts, and more, this innovative collection explores intersections of identities and perspectives while centering the role of Black media creators, including producers, journalists, and influencers, to highlight Black representation across genres of mass media.

With a commitment to elevating marginalized voices, Black Identities and Media in the Twenty-First Century advocates for the historical, present, and future value of Black media creators as intellectuals, workers, innovators, thought brokers, and champions of change in the United States.

Introduction — Sheryl Kennedy Haydel

Part 1. Black Identities in Traditional Media: News Coverage, Broadcast Television, and More

Journalism, Protest News, and Black Perspectives —Danielle K. Brown

Staying with Black: How Black Identity and Representation Shape News Coverage —Gheni Platenburg

How the Black Women of HBO's Lovecraft Country Circumvent Stereotypes —Aisha Powell and Ashley Leveille

And the Category Is: The FX Series Pose, Intersectionality, and Black Trans Representation —David Stamps

Going Beyond Traditional Television: Black Millennials, Black Gen Z, and Netflix —Sharifa Simon-Roberts

Sexual Scripts, Politics of Pleasure, and Representations of Sexiness in Savage X Fenty
N'Dea —  I. Drayton

Part 2. Black Identities in Digital Media: Social Media, Podcasts, and More

Digital Wake Work —KáLyn "Kay" Coghill

If You Know, You Know: Black Digital Culture and the Right to Opacity —Jasmine Banks, Eden Harrison, and Pyar Seth

The Techno-Discourse of Kimberlé Crenshaw's Intersectionality Matters Podcast —Rachel Grant

Digitized: The Visual Rhetoric of Black Feminist Storytellers on Instagram —Maurika Smutherman and Doris Wesley

#SayHerName: An Intersectional Analysis of Black Twitter in the Case of Jannie Ligons —Taryn K. Myers

Digital Nostalgia: Blackness, Beauty Culture, and Digital Feminized Labor on Instagram —Mel Monier