The image of the black male today and even years ago is socially constructed with the numerous stereotypes and images surrounding black males. Racial stereotypes are socially constructed beliefs that all members of the same racial group share the same characteristic and in most cases are negative characteristics. There are stereotypes that include ideas such as black intellect, innate criminality, and being subhuman. These negative stereotypes do not reflect the reality of the black male today, just as these images were not accurate representations of the black males of our past. Even with these misrepresentations of the black male, the negative stereotypes remained and were accepted by non-blacks as well as blacks. The media has long been criticized for its portrayal of African Americans on television, and the literature also suggests that although the number of African Americans on television has significantly increased, the qualities of the characters portrayed have remained the same. (Punyanunt-Carter,) Using research findings on the perception of college students has consistently shown that the negative exposure that African Americans receive from these negative stereotypes in the media has a significant influence on the evaluation of the African American in general. Taking a look at history, some black male stereotypes label them as submissive, unsophisticated and childish. These stereotypes have painted images that are dishonorable to Black males and as these stereotypes have progressed over time and continue today, they will only continue to thrive because of Black male culture. The new model for black males includes being a criminal, a pauper, an athlete… a paper man… in almost every way. Flaherty and Sethi also point out that although we hear about white on white, black on black, and even black on white, it is very rare that we hear about a robbery committed by a white person. having committed the robbery against a black person. In the years 2000–2002, single offenders with white victims and black offenders are fourteen times more frequent than those with black victims and white offenders. (O'Flaherty & Sethi, 2008) Since white criminals are numerous, this phenomenon seems to run counter to some of the common beliefs about racism; whites don't like blacks, law enforcement underestimates the safety of blacks, and courts are reluctant to accept testimony from blacks against whites. From these racial assumptions one might assume that whites would be eager to commit robberies and other crimes against blacks.