Is this comic strip racist?

The lesson from SCC’s comic strip tempest
Fairfield Daily Republic / The Other Side By Kelvin Wade September 29, 2011

A comic strip by Phillip Temple in the Solano Community College newspaper, the Tempest, has sparked racial controversy. The comic strip depicts black woman slamming black men. Some students were upset by the racially charged nature of the strip. The paper’s editor, Sharman Bruni, and Temple (who is black) deny that the comic is racist.

One of the objections is the perceived insensitivity of running a strip calling for getting rid of all black men so soon after the shocking murder of SCC football player Ennis Johnson. I imagine the campus is sensitive right now. People are hurting.

However, the subject matter isn’t new. Black women do talk about the dearth of black men and the problems they have with them, just as all women of all races do. In Spike Lee’s 1991 film, “Jungle Fever” there is a scene of black women sitting in a living room having a conversation similar to what’s depicted in the comic strip.

For me, the problem is there’s no dissenting voice in the four panels of the comic strip. But what else is objectionable is a character saying about black men, “. . . They’re all selfish, stupid, backwards idiots!! ALL of them!” And another saying they need to get rid of all black men.

Really? All black men?

What puzzles me is Superintendent/President Jowel Laguerre issued an email to faculty and staff apologizing for the comic calling it “highly offensive” but then saying he wasn’t personally offended by the comic strip. If Laguerre doesn’t find it offensive, then why send an email labeling it as such and apologizing?

This comic was obviously meant to provoke discussion and it worked. The problem is that it’s not provoking discussion about black men. It’s provoking discussion about the comic itself. That means the comic was unsuccessful.

Both Bruni and Temple acknowledge that the reaction to the strip is because of a lack of introduction or set-up to the comic. It’s true that looking at this strip there’s no context to it. Its just panel after panel of black women trashing black men. The real crime here is that the comic isn’t constructed well, delivers its point with a sledgehammer and stereotypes black men. It’s too one-note.

If someone picks up this comic and looks at scene after scene of black men being bashed, what are they to think?

While I don’t believe the editor or the artist is guilty of racism, I do think the artist is guilty of letting his method step on his message. Approaching this subject with nuance and maybe even humor could’ve better gotten his points across.

If you go back and watch that scene in “Jungle Fever,” you’ll hear black women bitterly complaining about their men, but you’ll also hear humor. You’ll hear that they love black men. It’s done in such a way that a black man can watch it and hear what the women are saying. The comic strip? Not so much.

Phillip Temple and Sharman Bruni need to go back to the drawing board.

With that said, if this is the biggest racial slight my brothers and sisters experience this week, consider it a great week. Peace.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

ADDITIONAL NOTES: I was trying not to just dump on the comic strip. I don't know the cartoonist. I've only seen a couple of his comics. Maybe he's a great cartoonist with a wonderful body of work. I don't know. I do know that you can't ask the reader to view something in context if there is no context. Even if it's part of a series, one has to take into account that new readers are going to pick up your strip at different times. This one just falls flat. Like I said if people are talking about your cartoon instead of the issues you raise, you failed in your mission. No, I don't think it's racist. It's just clumsy. Not well done. Just one man's opinion.