Includes bibliographical references (p. [284]-296) and index.

Introduction -- The black press. The nineteenth century : from slavery to reconstruction -- The great black migration and the growth of the urban black press, 1910-1945 -- The civil rights movement, and beyond -- Black magazines after World War II -- Film. Mainstream cinema and African Americans, 1900-1940s -- From servile to "upstanding" : message films, Sidney Poitier, and Hollywood after WWII -- Approaching a new century : from Spike Lee to Direct-to-DVD -- Record and recorded music. Records and race : the early years of radio -- Radio and race : from World War II to rock 'n' roll -- Integrating entertainment and ownership in music and radio -- Television and new media. Black faces in small places : early television and black Americans -- Enter Cosby : a new era of black presence on television, 1984-1992 -- Black entertainment television and the promise of cable diversity -- African Americans and the new media environment : from mass to niche media.