Race, Crime, and Media in the Digital Age Belonging and Exclusion

1. Race, Crime, and Global Media: The United States of America Frame; 2. Social Mobility and Crime in the Age of Media Convergence; 3. Media Portrayal of African Americans in Crime Culture; 4. The White Flight and Media-Driven Urban Fear; 5. Race, Media, and the Politics of Belonging; 6. Racialization, Blackness, and the Media in the United States; 7. Algorithmic Blackness and the New Circulation of Racial Stereotypes; 8. Media, Meaning, and the Cultural Politics of Race and Mobility; 9. Intersectional Bodies: Race, Gender, Sexuality, and the Criminalization of Black Masculinity; 10. The Final Word: Race, Media, and the Future of Belonging

Biography

Brian Chama is an Associate Professor of Digital Media and Journalism at Canadian University Dubai and a leading scholar of race, media, and social inequality in the digital age. His work spans communication studies, cultural sociology, Black studies, and equity‑focused pedagogy, with a central focus on how race, crime, and belonging are produced across global media systems. His research interrogates the historical and contemporary criminalization of Blackness, the algorithmic circulation of racial stereotypes, and the evolving politics of representation in an era defined by media convergence and AI‑driven platforms.

“This is a useful and even important book for its focus on the digital media. That Black Americans, most especially young males, have been wrongfully depicted and their behaviors misrepresented in mass media is generally known, at least to social scientists. What this volume potently adds is how this misrepresentation in relation to crime has been extended and amplified through digital media platforms. It makes a meaningful contribution to a series of salient and critical conversations around topics of utmost significance today.”

Ron Eyerman, Professor of Sociology, Yale University

“This book provides a compelling and analytically rich account of the intersections among race, crime, and media, illuminating how these dynamics reinforce and reproduce racism and racialization, particularly in relation to Black communities. As a sociologist and critical criminologist, I view this work as a meaningful and timely contribution to the field.”

Hyunsu Oh, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Louisiana State University

“This book offers a useful contribution to the subject of race, crime, and media by delving into understanding what digital formats bring to the conversation. Through immersion in original ethnographic field work and analysis of social media platforms, print journalism, television, and scholarly literature, the author uncovers the impact of media representations and narratives on sociological concepts and outcomes such as stereotypes, perceptions, social mobility, and migration. As such, the book will be an important resource for instructors, students, and readers engaged in these critical issues.”

M.E. Lawer, Assistant Professor of Sociology and African American Studies, University of Georgia