One thing made abundantly clear during the Trump era was the extent to which protest movements driven by the demands of White Americans could expect to encounter a very different level of state response than movements focused on the demands of African Americans or other racialized groups. One only need compare the response to Black … Continue reading This Week in Doonesbury: “Imagine if They’d Been Black.”
Tag: Race
Vietnam, the Aftermath. Part IV: “Explain My Wound to Me.”
America’s disengagement from a brutal, unpopular, and ultimately failed war in Vietnam began in 1969 with Richard Nixon’s announcement of his policy of “Vietnamization.” The 1973 Paris Peace Accords marked the end of America’s formal commitment to fighting in Vietnam; the war finally ended on 30 April 1975 with the fall of Saigon to North … Continue reading Vietnam, the Aftermath. Part IV: “Explain My Wound to Me.”
Comics Review: “The Young C.L.R. James: A Graphic Novelette.”
C.L.R. James (1901-1989) was a Trinidadian-British Marxist and pan-Africanist historian, writer, political theorist and activist. If you’re a halfway serious student of twentieth-century radical thought, you know that already. If you’re not, here’s a quick, and incomplete, summary of his achievements: His 1936 novel Minty Alley was the first novel published by a West Indian … Continue reading Comics Review: “The Young C.L.R. James: A Graphic Novelette.”
“Welcome, You Dumb Honky.” Race in the Early Doonesbury Strips, Part II: Rufus
In my last “Long Strange Trip” post, I looked at how Garry Trudeau wrote about Black radicalism in the early 1970s, focusing on the character of Calvin and Trudeau's depiction of the 1971 New Haven trial of nine members of the Black Panther Party for the murder of a suspected FBI informant. When Trudeau wrote … Continue reading “Welcome, You Dumb Honky.” Race in the Early Doonesbury Strips, Part II: Rufus
He’s Black, He’s Beautiful, and by Gosh, He’s Angry: Race in the Early Doonesbury Strips, Part I.
My last three “Long Strange Trip” posts have looked at how Doonesbury treated the Vietnam War during the first few years of its run, starting with B.D’s experience in ROTC through his decision to enlist and his encounter with Phred the Vietcong terrorist. Though B.D. was sent home as part of Richard Nixon’s policy of … Continue reading He’s Black, He’s Beautiful, and by Gosh, He’s Angry: Race in the Early Doonesbury Strips, Part I.
Reading Doonesbury 