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Comic Artists Plan Black and White Protest

'Minority' strips not interchangeable, say fed-up cartoonists

By Katherine Thompson,  Newser Staff

Posted Feb 6, 2008 3:01 PM CST
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(Newser) – Sick of seeing colleagues turned down by newspapers that already have their fill of cartoons depicting minorities, artists of color are planning a draw-in Sunday, the Washington Post reports. The minds behind strips like "Candorville," "Herb and Jamaal," and "Cafe con Leche" will wield their pens to portray a white reader writing off comic strips like theirs as "tokenism."

"I'd be shocked if an editor ever looked at a new white strip and said, 'We already have a white strip,' " says Darrin Bell, creator of "Candorville." But one syndicate rep argues that race is at most "a minor" factor. "How much uproar am I going to have if I drop a strip I currently run and replace it," he says.

The cast of Aaron McGruder's The Boondocks, arguably the most successful breakout among minority-penned comic strips. Due to token policies of some editors, argue protesters, achieving syndication is difficult once a perceived quota has been met on strips by and featuring minorities.
The cast of Aaron McGruder's "The Boondocks," arguably the most successful breakout among minority-penned comic strips. Due to "token" policies of some editors, argue protesters, achieving syndication...   (United Features Syndicate)
Emma Kaska, a student at the University of Cincinnati, works on a comic, Monday, Nov. 26, 2007, at the university in Cincinnati. The comics class is in its first year at the university. Minority comic artists will be staging a draw-in this week. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)
Emma Kaska, a student at the University of Cincinnati, works on a comic, Monday, Nov. 26, 2007, at the university in Cincinnati. The comics class is in its first year at the university. Minority comic...   (Associated Press)
Aaron McGruder holds a Peabody Award he received for Return of the King, an episode from his animated series The Boondocks, during an awards luncheon in New York, Monday June 4, 2007. Boondocks started as a daily comic strip, but that doesn't make it interchangable with strips from other black...
Aaron McGruder holds a Peabody Award he received for "Return of the King," an episode from his animated series "The Boondocks," during an awards luncheon in New York, Monday June 4, 2007. "Boondocks"...   (Associated Press)
In this promotional image provided by ABC TV, Charlie Brown and Linus appear in a scene from A Charlie Brown Christmas. Papers are too full of predominantly white cartoons, says a group of minority artists. (AP Photo/ABC, 1965 United Feature Syndicate Inc.,File)
In this promotional image provided by ABC TV, Charlie Brown and Linus appear in a scene from "A Charlie Brown Christmas. Papers are too full of predominantly white cartoons, says a group of minority...   (Associated Press)
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