Marla Gibbs, who starred in and produced...

Marla Gibbs, who starred in and produced the NBC-TV sitcom “227,” will be among the featured speakers at a symposium on the negative portrayal of minorities in the media today at Pasadena City College.

Last year, some Jewish leaders criticized Gibbs, and others, who spoke at a panel discussion on “Blacks in the Entertainment Industry” sponsored by the NAACP. The speakers implied that the influence of Jewish executives over film and music distribution has held back African-American entertainers and producers.

Gibbs--founder of Crossroads Arts Academy in the Leimert Park area of Los Angeles--suggested that African-Americans should concentrate on the quality of their products and bypass the industry by using churches and other other organizations to finance their projects.

Today, from 3 to 7 p.m., Gibbs

will be joined by several African-American authors and historians who will discuss how the media’s negative images of minorities influence their thinking, values, and decisions.

The event is being sponsored by the Black & Latino Multi-Cultural Book Center in Pasadena in conjunction with the college’s African American Students Assn.

“We want to let people know that our children are growing up feeling inferior and rejected,” said Rita Dyson, the bookstore’s owner. “It comes from the way we are depicted across the world.”

The speakers will examine the roots of racial stereotypes and what can be done to erase negative images and promote positive ones, she said.

Entertainment will include music from a jazz quintet and poetry readings.

Tickets are $20 at the door of Sexton Auditorium at PCC, 1570 E. Colorado Blvd. Students pay $10.