Many African Americans in the United States today have a negative view of the country’s racial progress. Despite their significant contributions in the settling and development of the country African Americans still have not achieved equal citizen’s rights as guaranteed by the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. The present study has shown that through decades of hardships and inequality, African Americans have not been given an equal opportunity to work towards achieving the American Dream which states that every American citizen is equally entitled to safety, happiness, freedom and success. This paper focuses on the portrayal of African Americans in all types of media and highlights the negative consequences of media misinterpretations and distortions. The present troubling racial unrest in the United States makes evident that significant changes are needed for true progress to be made. The negative legacy of slavery lingers but so does the positive legacy of Martin Luther King Jr, whose faith in the ideals of justice, hope, equality and his methods of peaceful protests could inspire the African Americans and the White Americans to work together towards social justice. The power of the media is especially visible today in the footage of people of all skin colours, genders, religions, sexual orientation, and ethnicities coming together to protest against injustice. Perhaps this new growing awareness will bring positive changes in the perception of African Americans and their values and result in the United States living up to its creed.