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Propaganda in America - The History of Public Relations

J. A. Faulkerson · Wednesday, December 31st 2008 at 8:12PM · 6827 views
Here is an interesting video that I discovered on YouTube.com. It chronicles the life of Edward Bernays, considered the creator of modern-day public relations. Bernays is also Sigmund Freud's nephew.

I tend to believe that racism was a strategic effort to keep Blacks and other persons of color down (Duh!). Consequently, we black media professionals should be playing a bigger role in counteracting past, present and future damages on our collective psyches - not just on a micro level, but a macro one as well. That means we will introduce positive depictions of academic achievement into mainstream conversations when we hear about the low performance of black students in school. That means we will tell more stories of single-parent mothers thriving even though they have been left alone with new children (It would be great if we heard more stories about restored relationships being transformed into marital ones). That means we will highlight the positive contributions of convicted felons behind bars and in the larger community.

BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL. We just need to gain more control of the messaging.

Jeffery A. Faulkerson, MSSW
www.jefferyafaulkerson.com
Propaganda in America - The History of Public Relations

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Comments (3)

R.C. Beckom Tuesday, January 6th 2009 at 2:26AM

now this really is something to think about.

H
Hope White Tuesday, January 6th 2009 at 8:56AM

I believe you are right, Mr. Faulkerson, in that we African Americans are capable of looking at the positive contribution our brothers and sisters are making instead of using the same lens as the discriminatory media to look at our people. I often think about the unlimited power each one of us has within our life and believe that by bring out this strength from the depths of our life we can encourage one another to bring out our full potential. Let's win over our own negativity and self-doubt. Thank you for creating this blog!
H.A.White

J
J. A. Faulkerson Wednesday, January 7th 2009 at 10:13AM

We black Americans have the power to change the negative attitudes that other racial/ethnic groups harbor toward us. But it is going to require tremendous courage and moral fortitude. Unfortunately, so many of us Blacks are forgetting the mental war that is simultaneously being waged with the physical. We're losing this mental war because our black PR professionals are choosing to blend in rather than stand out. When they and others start standing out, meaning they engage in activities to change the general publics perception about Blacks, then we will start winning over hearts and minds, including the hearts and minds of individuals in our own ranks.

Thank you so much for the comments. I pray that you got a chance to view the full documentary.

Jeffery A. Faulkerson, MSSW
www.jefferyafaulkerson.com

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