This week's readings, both the primary and secondary sources, highlight the importance of examining sources from multiple perspectives in order to construct a narrative. African Americans have often had to counter racist and demeaning mainstream narratives with their own stories in order to more accurately depict African Americans and their experiences. However, a sole focus on the positive elements of any group can also be misleading and leave out important stories.

Select two of the following subject matters covered this week: Black Panther Party, scripted television series, television news media, and print news media. Then discuss how your two selected subjects have shown the need to counter negative and racist depictions of African Americans, drawing specific examples from this week's course materials. Next, think about what is left out or missing from the positive depictions used to counter the negative ones. Finally, how does this tension between positive and negative depictions of the African American community manifest itself today?