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A Six-Decade Study of the Portrayal of African Americans in Business Print Media: Trailing, Mirroring, or Shaping Social Change?

Abstract By examining the portrayals of African Americans in business-to-business advertising over time, this paper offers a longitudinal insight into the question of whether advertising trails, mirrors, or leads social change. It examines one social change, the influx of blacks into managerial roles in business, and compares this to numerical and occupational depictions of blacks in widely read business magazines over the period from 1957 to 2005. Findings indicate that in some periods there were significant increases in the portrayals of African Americans, and by the late 1970's black portrayals had moved significantly away from underclass images to depictions more reflective of professional occupations. Implications are discussed and suggestions for future research are offered.