"I Want to Show the World What They Did To My Son": A Framing Analysis of the Grieving Yet Empowered Black Mother

• In Event: Scandalous Representations: Across Four Decades of Black Women in Primetime Television

Abstract

What do Leslie McSpadden and Sybrina Fulton have in common? Their sons, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin and Emmitt Till were slain under racially charged circumstances. In the aftermath of their sons’ deaths, these women used their grief to seek justice for their sons. They also galvanized a nation to examine its position on the sanctity of Black life. These deaths also led to the scrutiny of the U.S. justice system and the unequal treatment levied on law enforcement officials who end the lives of African Americans. In this content analysis, using framing theory, news articles of each case will be examined to reveal emerging coverage themes. While many women have endured public scrutiny as they sought justice for their sons, this study, will use two of the most recent cases; the deaths of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown through the eyes of their grieving mothers Leslie McSpadden and Sybrina Fulton.

Author

• Jayne Cubbage, Bowie State U