MOHAMMAD IBRAHIM YIP Capstone Project

by Mohammad Ibrahim

Fellowship Candidate (Summer 24)

This Fellowship Capstone Project is inspired by Charles M. Blow's article, "The Memory of George Floyd Is Literally Fading Across America," published in The New York Times.

How some communities in

are/were divided by media polarization

For many years, even centuries, America has been founded as a land of promise for dreamers, offering liberty, prosperity, and independence. Yet, we have often neglected and divided many different communities, torn apart by hatred, racism, and, most often, by the media, where the first to reach a narrative holds the power.

Content Warning: Violence, Racism

Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade (1619–1865)

Newspapers helped slave owners share information about runaway enslaved people and offered rewards for their capture, making it easier to communicate across large areas

$150 reward [cut of runaway slave], 1838

An advertisement for the sale of roughly 250 enslaved people trafficked into Boston on the Bante Island ship, ca. 1700.

Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)

This newspaper is reporting that a convention is being held to support the renewal of the Chinese Exclusion Act and arguing that it is necessary to protect American labor from competition with Chinese workers. from Nov 21 1901

1882 in 2017 — A Call to Action published by Newspaper

Tulsa Race Massacre (1921)

1 882 in 2017 — A Call to Action published by Newspaper The front page of The Black Dispatch, a weekly newspaper published in Oklahoma City, on June 10, 1931.

(Oklahoma Historical Society)

Tulsa Race Massacre - 1921

LA Riots (1992)

LA Times coverage of the 1992 LA Riots

The Tulsa World and other newspapers at the time often blamed the Black community for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, using biased reporting that fueled negative public opinions against them.

Post-9/11 Anti-Muslim and Anti-Arab Backlash (2001–Present)

A small group attend an "anti-Islam" rally organized by "ACT for America,"

Opinion | American Muslims Are in a Painful, Familiar Place - The New York Times

Anti-Asian Hate During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Trump dubs COVID-19 'Chinese virus' despite hate crime risks

Jessica Wong of Fall River, Mass., front left; Jenny Chiang of Medford, Mass., center; and Sheila Vo of Boston, from the state's Asian American Commission

Thank you so much! This was all for my personal capstone project, and I really enjoyed it. Some parts of this course project are basically a perspective on a few key American events where race and racism play a significant role.