ABSTRACT

The 2016 presidential campaign showed that race continues to be an active ingredient in American politics. Some media commentators interpreted Trump's comments as a ham-handed attempt at courting black voters frustrated by continuing racial inequality and injustice. This chapter argues that these chains of associations are more likely to be forged in locales where racial segregation is high and where crime is a principle driver of racial animus. The racial threat hypothesis declares that competition for scarce resources and political power influences the majority's attitudes toward minorities. The chapter employs frame analysis to analyze mediated discourse on the underlying causes of racial unrest in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray. It examines the impact of racial segregation on racial threat and its relationship to local coverage of racial unrest in other locations, given that considerable scholarship on news framing of black crime shows that its influence is felt most at the local level.