By Kevin Canessa Jr. - Feb 20, 2009
Keywords: New York Post, cartoon, Al Sharpton, Sean Delonas, Barack Obama, first Black president, Black president, race issues, multicultural missteps, cultural competency
Amid protests led by the Rev. Al Sharpton outside their offices in Manhattan, the New York Post issued an apology to "those who were offended by the image" of a Wednesday cartoon likely depicting President Barack Obama as a chimpanzee. (Click here to read DiversityInc's original story about the cartoon and click here to read what DiversityInc readers had to say about the cartoon). The Post's leading competitor in New York, the Daily News, called the apology "half-hearted."
"It was a sorry excuse for an apology, but the New York Post finally caved in to outrage over a racially charged cartoon that some believed insulted President Obama--then went on the attack," the Daily News wrote.
The cartoon depicted two police officers who had shot dead a chimpanzee. One cop said to the other: "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill."
Post officials said the cartoon was meant to bring "humor" to an incident that took place in Connecticut just a few days ago, where a pet chimp was shot dead by police after the animal mauled and nearly killed a friend of its owner. But Sharpton and others say it was obvious the Post meant to convey a racially charged commentary by comparing Obama to the chimp, a comparison Blacks have had to deal with for decades in the United States.
"They made what could have been a noble gesture ignoble by trying to attack people at the same time they're trying to apologize to them," Sharpton told the Daily News. "It's not opportunistic to say 'I've been offended.' This makes it hard to take them seriously. They've done a number of cartoons on me over the years, and I've never marched on them. They just don't get it."
The cartoon's creator, Sean Delonas, who has been with the Post since at least 1998, is no stranger to this kind of controversy. He's sketched many others that have led to outrage. For the most part, he's remained mum on the current buzz, except for a brief phone interview he granted to CNN. He says he's puzzled by the nationwide outrage his piece has caused.
"Do you really think I'm saying Obama should be shot? I didn't see that in the cartoon," Delonas said in the CNN interview. "It's about the economic stimulus bill."
Not so, says Roland S. Martin, a noted Black author and CNN contributor.
"Ignorant leaders of the New York Post and others may think everything is fair game, and certainly criticizing the president of the United States is just fine," Martin wrote on his blog on CNNPolitics.com. (Click here to read Martin's blog). "Yet while everyone seems to be caught up in the delusion of a post-racial America, we cannot forget the reality of the racial America, where African Americans were treated and portrayed as inferior and less than others."
Assassination Fears?
While it wasn't said directly, there were some protestors who said they feared the cartoon too closely represented an Obama assassination. Peter Aviles, 48, was one of the protestors, and he told MSNBC it's a fear in the Black community that Obama could be a target for an assassination.
"Just the fact that they put a monkey with gunshot wounds in his chest, it gives the idea of an assassination," Aviles told MSNBC.
DiversityInc Readers Respond--Loudly and Clearly
DiversityInc readers spoke out about the cartoon throughout the day yesterday--and most were in agreement: The cartoon was nothing short of racist. (Click here to read all the readers' comments).
Shawna Banks was one who responded. "My brother informed me about this cartoon and to say that I was angry is an understatement," Banks wrote. "When I read the cartoon and saw the images, it made me feel as if I was less than a person. I am one to pick and choose my battles because as an African-American woman, I cannot fight every racist battle. I chose to contact the Post and voice my concerns. I am upset by the images that the Post chose to convey its political satire. I am upset by the manner in which they chose to present it."
Deborah Lee agreed and said Obama's presidency should not give people a false impression that racism no longer exists in this country. "Everyone knows that the N.Y. Post is a racist newspaper," Lee wrote. "Just because Mr. Obama became president, it does not mean racism in America is going to disappear. What we need to do as a people is put the N.Y. Post out of business. How do we do that? By boycotting their advertisers. We need to put our money where our mouths are."
Click here for the full story from the New York Daily News.
Click here to read singer John Legend's open letter to the New York Post on NBCNewYork.com.
Readers' Comments
It would be great if someone would publish a list of New York Post advertisers!!!
Now is the perfect time to pick and choose with whom I do business!
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