Twenty years after kernen: The portrayal of African Americans on prime‐time television

In order to document the present‐day portrayal of African Americans on television, a content analysis was conducted on a sample week of all national network commercial television series regularly containing an African American character and aired during prime time in the 1987 fall season. An analysis of both character and program attributes reveals an improvement in the participation and portrayal of African Americans since the publication of the Kerner Commission Report, with African Americans portrayed in a diversity of dramatic and comedie roles and settings. Yet, the casting of African American characters generally remains governed by many of the dominant myths about preferred social roles for African Americans, with African Americans being more frequently portrayed in all‐black, comical settings.

Key terms:

• Portrayal
• television
• blacks
• African Americans
• Kerner Commission