Campus Racial Climate: How University Social Media Effects African American Student Inclusion at Predominantly White Universities

Abstract

The portrayal of African Americans as a stigmatized and devalued group has contributed to the generality of racial inequality. Racial bias, disempowerment, and discrimination have been longstanding issues within several aspects of mainstream media, including television news, entertainment and advertising. This is also including social media, a platform in which many organizations and businesses are using to effectively communicate to their audiences. Universities around the country have begun using this type of media as their main tool to release messages to students. How these universities communicate with their minority population is of extreme importance. This study investigated the communications effectiveness of Oklahoma State University�s social media pages in representing African American students.