No More Oppression: Challenging Authority and Creating Space in Media

Arguments to remember the collective African American past were often one manifestation of a greater theme in The Nubian Message: creating space for African American perspectives in mainstream media. Staff writers often expressed resentment about mainstream media's failure to acknowledge African American accomplishments and to recognize as serious the issues affecting African American communities. By challenging the Technician for media space on campus and creating The Nubian Message, African American students asserted their rights to have their interests presented and their voices heard. Through subsequent articles published in the paper, staff writers attempted to show what an African American voice in media would look like. Yet, these writers recognized that where they had succeeded, mainstream media still failed. Writers therefore continued to call for better representation of African American perspectives in media even after The Nubian Message was established. Examining these calls thus brings this exhibit full circle, as the call for African American voices in media is an outgrowth of anger at campus racism, pride in African American history and experiences, and criticism of the status quo.