Black Identities and Media in the Twenty-First Century (PB) (2026)

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.

CONTENTS
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
K?Lyn "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 Kimberl? 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