Protesting White supremacy: race and the status quo in news coverage of anti-segregation rallies in Forsyth County, Georgia

ABSTRACT A pair of anti-segregation marches held in Georgia in 1987 provides an opportunity for historical analysis of the role of race in mainstream news coverage of social protest. These protests were somewhat unique in that both anti-segregation marchers and counter-protesters – including KKK members – were on hand for both marches. Analysis of newspaper articles shows that coverage tended to give more space to White counter-protesters than Black protesters, did little to discuss the reasons behind the marches, and cast the primarily Black anti-segregation marchers as outsiders. This reinforces central themes of the protest paradigm – whereby groups that threaten the status quo are treated more critically. Perhaps most importantly, the findings also reinforce patterns of research demonstrating a disparity in news treatment between Black protesters and White counter-protesters.