How news media portray the problem of crime and the violence associated with Black political struggle has led to the popular stereotype of 'young black males' as criminals has been investigated. The study was carried out by examining cover stories about crime in 'Time' and 'Newsweek' magazines from 1946 to 1995. Results show that both periodicals portrayed crime as mainly a problem of urban Blacks. The unwanted label started with news reports on violence in Harlem in 1964 that would cement the link between 'young black males' and crime forever.