Professor writes book criticizing media's portrayal of black men

Dennis Rome, a criminal justice professor and sociologist, believes the biggest obstacle facing race relations in this country is in the media's portrayal of black men, which is why he wrote "Black Demons: Mass Media's Depiction of the African American Male Criminal Stereotype," published last month by Praeger Publishers.\nRome said he was inspired to write the book after an incident in Union, S.C., when Susan Smith strapped her two small children into the back seat of her car and pushed it into a nearby lake and later claimed she was car-jacked by a black male. \n"Until she confessed to police, the entire state of South Carolina and the entire nation was transfixed on the image of a criminal, a black demon -- that didn't exist," Rome said. "Union, S.C., even had a 'suspect' in custody.\n"'Black Demons' includes chapters devoted to reality police shows and extreme gangster rap music, which is often brutal toward black women, and is purchased largely by white suburban males."\nRome said he believes that for people to change their ideas about black males they have to first recognize the media's exaggerations.\n"I want people to understand the conceptualization, the entrapment by the media and not be too quickly convinced of what they see," Rome said. "If we understand how we conceptualize these media images, we can begin to change our behavior." \nRome described his writing experience as being difficult because of the very sensitive subject material, and having to write toward two audiences: academe and the public.\nRome said his book will be used for the classes Introduction to Criminal Justice, Introduction to Mass Media, Race and Ethnic Relations, Introduction to Sociology, and Criminology.\nAfter teaching at IU for 11 years, Rome has joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin. At IU, Rome taught for nine years in the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies and two years in the Department of Criminal Justice. He was also a member of the Honors faculty. \n"Professor Rome has motivated me to get more involved in politics," said Chris Moore, a senior majoring in biochemistry and philosophy.\nMoore took an honors course with Rome called Confronting Authority.\n"His teaching style is very interactive," Moore said. "It's never just him lecturing; he has a conversation with the whole class."\nCharlene Brown, assistant director for extracurricular activities in the Honors College, agrees. \n"His teaching style draws in the students," she said. "He's terrific with students, so students I know who have taken his classes have been very enthusiastic about their experiences with him," \n-- Contact staff writer Daria Kamalipour at dkamalip@indiana.edu.