Do Viral Ghetto News Clips Make Black People Look Bad?

Every year it seems there a news clip from some urban neighborhood with African Americans who maybe considered country, crazy, wacky silly or even stupid. Whether it be a leprechaun in the hood, whistle tip mufflers, a 7-year-old stealing cars or a flamboyant homosexual ranting against rapists. These clips go viral, get remixes and spread all over the internet. I find them funny and know that these people are just a small segment of the Black community who make urban neighborhoods more interesting and colorful. While I worry about the affect they might have on people outside the community, if someone is going to judge all Black people by a newscasts they were probably racist already.
-Words Casey Gane-McCalla from Newsone.com

Here’s a parody of the most popular viral news clips from the hood from our friends at Thats WhatUp over at The Urban Daily.

Tags: afro-punk, ghetto news, newsone, youtube

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Comment by Albert Frankenstein on August 3, 2011 at 7:34pm: What makes "us" look bad is a lack of self control and sense of self worth that a camera is sometimes pointed at.

Comment by Lloyd Lacy on July 14, 2011 at 9:44am: Yes these videos make us look bad. I personally find some of them funny. But still I'm tired of always being shown as some ignorant gang banging monkey. I just got finished reading the book Ghetto nation it's a very enlightening book on how the "ghetto culture" has gone mainstream and how it ruining our rep as black people.

Comment by Isaac Makings on September 28, 2010 at 3:26pm: As Black Americans this shouldn't bother us, since we have been freed as slaves White America portrays us badly. These types of viral videos should just make us strive to overcome the bullshit even more. Be great at what you do and when the people who see these videos and think blacks are like that, you can says fuck you with a smile because you know your better then the people in the videos. And at the end of the day people will always have something to say so just do you and fuck the extra bullshit!

Comment by Ghettopunkrocker on September 20, 2010 at 8:19pm: If anything it's making black people from the south look bad.

Comment by Rosenda on September 17, 2010 at 1:53pm: David, I can agree with that, I had some better images and role models when I grew up, 60's-70's. There are people now doing great things who are Black Americans, but they dont' always get a lot of celebrity popularity media coverage for it.

Another thing we should all remember........we didn't have the Internet to pass along pictures and stories of ignorant stuff when I was growin up. Hell, I didn't have it available to me until I was in my mid 30's. I am sure there were folks wearing ridiculous shit and doing ridiculous shit, White and Black folks, back then too, but nobody brought their camera and put their pictures in the paper.

It's much easier to take digital pictures and put them online now then it was to get pictures in widely distributed newspapers back then.

Comment by Sheree Monay on September 16, 2010 at 8:03pm: "There are more rich ignorant people then there are smart ones I think."

This is so true.

Comment by DR. JONES on September 16, 2010 at 7:05pm: I think it does at some point. Cause say if somehow that someone (non ethnic) has never met a black person in person then they see these videos. What is one to think? or they shouldn't even put those images on tv. I really hate that this sort of stuff is still profitable, straight exploitation I think. Nothing is pure anymore. What is popular music teaching anyone?......... Absolutely nothing. Radio music is the blame for this I think. Money has totally ruined society too...... You don't have to have $ to have common sense. There are more rich ignorant people then there are smart ones I think. When is the last time you have seen a millionaire fix something besides making problems for other people. Aside from that yeah the viral videos are a FAIL for us.

Comment by Sheree Monay on September 16, 2010 at 3:54pm: "I could have came up with an easy answer like Oprah, which would effectively prove your statement false."

"Afluent black people" is not limited to the famous; The viral videos are not about celebs: they are about everyday people. I know Oprah is on tv; you might as well have said McDonalds serve french fries. The example of Henry Louis Gates is a good one but it's only one. At least he was a professor and not in entertainment/sport/performance field. Jeremiah Wright is another good one. These are the kind of people who matter the most as they are within the community where we can see them and judge for ourselves. Most black people know to take what we see on tv about us with a grain of salt; it's fixed. The entertainment examples are good but are the norm: some rappers have to go to jail at some point in their career or get out (did Master P ever go? I like him so I'ma check that out....), some black actresses have to be "sassy" and "victimized" to get work; some black actors need to know how to play a sport period if they want work... all the norm in the entertainment field (and these actors/actresses know it too!) which is why they are able to stay: they choose to. But not regular people. Our Black dentist's, doctors, lawyers, professors, business owners, etc do not have to abide by those same regulations yet are not on our tv. I do know they are out there: I've had 2 black female dentist and one middle eastern one. I don't remember having a black dr but a few nurse's yeah,

I guess my point is afluent has more than one meaning but you must have money. Degree/No degree not really the issue but money yes. And there are plenty of black people with money that we'll never know about. Martha's Vineyard is the spot for many afluent blacks. (I'ma check that out too!)

Comment by Rosenda on September 16, 2010 at 3:14pm: Well, I've noticed just as many with White folks doing stupid shit being passed around and emailed around for the past 5-6 years straight. If photographs and articles about it are out there being written, you cannot control that. If it bothers any of us, then we shouldn't pass it on to everyone on our email list. And if others already have racist negative beliefs about us Black people, they'll feel that way and portray us that way, no matter what, they'll look for that shit or they'll just make it up about us if they can't find it already filmed or printed.

Comment by weallfail on September 16, 2010 at 2:48pm: First we have Michael Stephen Steele and Sex Club Scandal. Here and the list on The Daily Shows website here. And this clip here. Steele plays race card here. Then we have the whole Jeremiah Right fiasco. Try this link. There are many more examples of him across the internet. We got a bunch of examples from Fox's Hannity and Combs here and here. Then we have Charles Rangel who is a founder of the Congressional Black Caucus and ethics violation scandal here. And we have a good example of Rangel made to look like a fool here. Then we have Bob Johnson and him criticizing Obama's campaign here and of course there are more examples on the web. Though these examples may not be as good as the Henry Louis Gates Jr. fiasco, I believe they serve my point. And furthermore I do not disagree with your opinion. If you read the rest of my post, I do in fact agree with everything you said. The only thing I took issue with is the statement that affluent blacks are never shown in the media. I could have came up with an easy answer like Oprah, which would effectively prove your statement false. But I chose an example like the whole Henry Louis Gates things to prove your point while trying to make mine. My point is that affluent Blacks are shown in the media, but overwhelmingly in a negative light. I do apologize for outright saying "your wrong" and in retrospect should have said something along the lines of "that is not exactly true" or maybe "you meant to say"...