'Boondocks' Creator Explains Obama Comment
"On the topic of race and ethnicity, McGruder said that to him, Obama is not black because he is not a descendant of a slave," states an article posted on Pal-Item.com. It goes on to quote McGruder as saying, "The person who is one of us in the White House is Michelle Obama and her momma."
McGruder, 34, denies the story on his Myspace page saying, "Hey guys, never said Barack wasn't Black... please don't bother me with that bullshit."
"I have seen an endless stream of Black pundits on TV pontificating about the significance of President Obama's election - many of them making reference to the 3/5th's clause in the constitution regarding slaves. The point I was making is that this is not an accurate comparison.
"Barack is the son of an immigrant, not the descendant of slaves. It's like comparing a half-Japanese man to the oppressed Chinese who built the American railroads. Yes, they are both Asian, but it is not an honest or accurate comparison. We all share the common experiences of being Black in America today - we do not all share a common history. A history that in part makes us who we are - and in some cases (as with the psychological damage that still lingers from slavery) holds us back. These are not, I believe, insignificant distinctions.
"I did say I was cautiously pessimistic about Obama's Presidency - but this is simply acknowledging the reality of an American Empire that is out of control and on the verge of collapse. Let us not forget that on the eve of the election, we witnessed a near-trillion dollar robbery of the US treasury. That robbery is still taking place. I do not blame President Obama, but I do not believe the financial and corporate interests that own and control this country will fold so easily. I do not question the integrity of the man as much as the power of his office - which I believe has greatly diminished over the years. I believe the Federal Reserve Bank, the Military Industrial Complex, and the massive corporate interests that run this country have more power than our new President. I hope I am wrong.
"After 9/11, I witnessed most of this country become obsessed with squashing dissent and silencing critics. I hope this election does not turn Black America towards this same, fascist mind state; but already I am starting to see it, and it saddens me greatly.
I absolutely wish our new President and his family success and safety. But after all I have witnessed in my lifetime, and especially in the last eight years, I am not ready to lay down my skepticism or my outrage for this government. To do so would be unwise and, ironically enough, anti-American."
McGruder Operation B.O. - Before Obama
The Boondocks is a wry political strip about Huey Freeman, an angry Black kid who moves to the suburbs. It regularly features his little brother, Riley, and his best friend, Caesar, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y. Huey, a "radical scholar," has called out Jesse Jackson and smacked Bob Johnson and Black Entertainment Television. Sacred cows should graze with caution in the boondocks.
After 9/11, McGruder continued to let Huey speak his peace. The suburban kid harangued America's outpouring of unchecked patriotism, Attorney General John Ashcroft and the Bush Administration's bulldozing of civil liberties. As a result, The Boondocks was temporarily pulled from the New York Daily News and Newsday. The Dallas Morning News opted to move it out of the comics section rather than yank it altogether.
Universal Press Syndicate has been very supportive of McGruder, whose strip appears in 250 newspapers across the country, including The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, while understanding the readership concerns of the papers with which they work.
"True, some newspapers have pulled the strip, and we like to think that individual editors know what's best for their readers," says Kathie Kerr, UPS director of communications. "At the same time, we're completely supportive of the work Mr. McGruder is doing and we'll continue to support him."
And so Huey continues to take jabs at the war in Iraq, Kobe Bryant and the recall election in California. President Bush is a regular target. In an August strip, Huey announced, "I heard Bush avoided Liberia during his trip to Africa 'cause he thought it meant 'library' in Spanish.
0 comments:
Post a Comment