Today's Guests: Tim Jackson, David G. Brown, Ron Rogers, Barbara Brandon-Croft, Dr. Yaounde Olu, editorial cartoonists
Cartoonist Tim Jackson
These are days when the rules are being rewritten by the hour, a time when the old ways seem quaint and antiquated, a period in history when perhaps we can no longer rely upon history to guide the future. And just when we’re starting to sort things out—our first African-American president, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and deep fears that we may eat lunch this week but maybe not next week—leave it to the New York Post and Rush Limbaugh to help us spot the fine line between criticism and hate. Limbaugh couldn’t wait until Barack Obama had warmed up his new chair in the Oval Office to say he hopes the new president fails. At least we all know where he stands, as if there were any doubt. And the New York Post publishes a cartoon in which the police shoot a monkey and one of the cops says, “They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.” Shortly after that cartoon ran, I received an email from Tim Jackson, editorial cartoonist for the Chicago Defender newspaper. He wanted to know why, when all the pundits were weighing in on the Post’s monkey cartoon, no one solicited the opinion of America’s corps of African-American editorial cartoonists. I thought he made a good point, so, with the help of Mr. Jackson, I have invited a number of these cartoonists to join us in a roundtable discussion tonight. In addition to Tim, joining us on the phone tonight are:
• David G. Brown, cartoonist for the Los Angeles Sentinel;
• Ron Rogers at the South Bend Tribune;
• Barbara Brandon-Croft, "Where I'm Coming From";
