The American Dream

I honestly don't know whether or not this should be viewed as sad or otherwise...

VIDEO: Make Mine Freedom

This cartoon was made in 1948. Perhaps a bit ahead of its time especially with the mention of racial division. The nation was segregated back then, but the point stands even today as racial division is an issue.

Of course that's not the only issue involved therein however the messages contained here is as important today as it was then. Especially since America was about to enter a cold war with the Communist block.

Via The Bench!

Obama the chimp?

You know I often forget how people can be at times, hypersensitive about these type of things. It may even be that some people over react.

I can see how some people can see the symbolism. Racist people often think of blacks as apes and since blacks often equal apes then we have a police officer shooting at black/ape. Of course it doesn't help that the caption mentions this whole stimulus package that was signed into law this week.

Of course while people want to associate this photography with President Obama, it could be noted & said that Obama didn't write the stimulus. He largely did leave it up to Congress to determine what should be in there, even if he had his own ideas.


Anyway what do you think about this cartoon.

You can find the original cartoon here at the New York Post. You'd have to go thru the archives although it was just yesterday.

Other posts of interest
Update: Black people portrayed as monkeys is still racist -Hate on Me
Obama Not Monkey Who Wrote Stimulus -Chicago News Bench
New York Post Condones 'Obama the Monkey' Cartoon -Electronic Village

Cuff Links...A Brief American History

I suppose this is commentary on race relations in this nation. From slave shackles to Presidential cuff links. And just in time for Black History Month.

If anyone has any idea where this cartoon first appeared I would greatly appreciate that information.

Cartoonist stood up for 'the little guy in society'

Above you see an example of the work of Chester Commodore something I took out of a gallery of images provided by the Sun-Times with this article. I chose this cartoon to highlight the fact that the segregation that existed in the south when many blacks moved from down south for the idea of better opportunity up north faced more segregation when they came to Chicago and perhaps other cities in the north. The legacy of this still exists in Chicago where there isn't a lot of integration in the neighborhoods or schools in the city. Another legacy the CHA highrises around the city where many poor blacks were housed for many years are being torn down. As you can see there is a lot to chew on in this article:

One of Chicago's most beloved cartoonists was a man named Chester Commodore.

His work depicted pols and celebs, poked fun at famous folks' foibles and took on heavy issues of the day with a searing sense of irony and humor that was often rooted in tragedy. Many of his cartoons appeared in Accent, a Sunday magazine that used to run in the Chicago Defender newspaper.

His work, along with other related memorabilia, is on display at the Carter G. Woodson Library, 9525 S. Halsted, as part of a free exhibit called "Chester Commodore, 1914-2004: Work and Life of a Pioneering Cartoonist of Color." The exhibit runs through Dec. 31.

"He turned out to be an extraordinarily influential man," says Michael Flug, senior archivist at the library's Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature.

"His cartoons were reprinted very widely in magazines and newspapers across the country. They appeared in documentary films. And I think it's because he had a sense of standing up for what he called the little guy in society."

The exhibit includes a smiling caricature of himself (the only one he ever drew) and a popular comic strip called "Bungleton Green."

But it also shows work depicting more serious subjects: lynching victims ignored by the FBI, justice unserved in Black Panther leader Fred Hampton's murder, the manacles of school segregation symbolically shattered by the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Brown vs. Board of Education case.

I haven't been to Woodson in a while perhaps I might go over there and visit so that I can have a look at this exhibit.