CNN Heavily Features New Black Panthers In Dramatic Zimmerman Verdict Reaction Montage
The morning after an emotional verdict in the George Zimmerman trial for the killing of Trayvon Martin, CNN viewers were treated to a dramatically-scored montage of reactions to the jury’s “not guilty” decision, and those viewers could be forgiven for thinking that quasi-militant barely-group The New Black Panthers figured heavily in the mix. The video package featured several shots of New Black Panther members holding Skittles, and chanting with protesters. Those viewers might be surprised to learn the true size of the NBPP contingent.
New Day co-host Kate Bolduan introduced the clip by explaining that “one side was bound to be heartbroken, obviously, because tensions were high, emotions were high and there was a lot of outrage after the verdict. So, so far, reaction to the not guilty verdict has been passionate, both online and on the street.”
The package featured clips of the verdict, and of reactions from attorneys on both sides, mixed with scenes from outside the courthouse:
In fairness to CNN, the New Black Panthers give what we in the business call “good art,” providing a pat image of racial polarization to fit the post-verdict narrative. However, since the New Black Panthers have been relentlessly promoted by the right-wing media as a menace with influence at the highest levels, perhaps some context is in order. I’ve been reporting on this group for several years now, and while they have a knack for getting publicity from panicky white people, their influence, and their membership, barely approach Westboro Baptist Church levels. They managed to link themselves to this story by putting out a leaflet offering a reward for George Zimmerman’s capture, “dead or alive.”
Ironically, it is chief Black Menace Promotional Bureau The Daily Caller which provides the needed context for CNN’s montage. Although they left it out of their write-up, the Daily Caller’s brief interview (in which they suggested George Zimmerman might be murdered in prison and then attributed that suggestion to the NBPP) contains a valuable fact about the group’s presence at the courthouse:
That’s right, folks, the group that’s leading CNN’s montage managed a contingent of two. Somehow, CNN managed to get both Kojo Kayrallah and Brother James Muhammad into their montage, in front of a huge banner that wasn’t theirs, chanting with people who weren’t in their group. Given the right-wing media’s longstanding campaign to aid the New Black Panthers in scaring white people by inflating their numbers, this is an important piece of context to that video, which could have included any number of the peaceful demonstrations that occurred last night.
This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.
