Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Exhibit Highlights Cartoonists' Focus on First Amendment
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
May 28, 2019

Share

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The First Amendment right to free speech is no laughing matter, as illustrated by a new exhibit at the world’s largest cartoon library.

“We focused on editorial cartoonists and the First Amendment partly because American editorial cartoonists are the only ones in the world whose work is protected by an amendment to the federal constitution of the country.” Lucy Caswell, museum founder

The political cartooning display runs the gamut from a 1774 etching by Paul Revere criticizing Britain’s use of tea as a political weapon to a 2018 cartoon lampooning the blocking of online conservative commentary.

Other cartoons take on political correctness, flag desecration, fake news, campus conduct codes, and the role of Twitter in public discourse.

The exhibit combines drawings contributed by several dozen cartoonists with material from the library’s own collection. Many are from newspapers, but offerings include cartoons from The New Yorker magazine and even ones that first appeared online, on websites such as Politico.

“We focused on editorial cartoonists and the First Amendment partly because American editorial cartoonists are the only ones in the world whose work is protected by an amendment to the federal constitution of the country,” said museum founder Lucy Caswell, who co-curated the exhibit with Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes.

Among Cartoons on Display:

— “Get up Kaepernick!! Men died for your right to stand!” protesters shout at former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, highlighting his decision to kneel during the national anthem to protest racial injustice, in a 2016 cartoon by Ed Hall for Artizans Syndicate. “Actually, we died for his right to sit or stand,” say two soldiers observing the scene in Hall’s drawing.

— Angelo Lopez sums up the trend of people walling themselves off from alternative viewpoints in a 2017 cartoon that appeared on the site Cartoon Movement, in which a bound and gagged Uncle Sam listens as protesters shout, “My opinions only!” and “Free speech for those I agree with!”

— A 1989 Baltimore Sun cartoon by Kevin Kallaugher featuring a superhero decked out in American flag-themed clothing from head to toe. “I can’t just sit around and watch a bunch of amateurs desecrate the flag!” he says.

From About 150 Editorial Cartoonists 20 Years Ago to 40 Today

President Donald Trump’s scorn for traditional media inspired several Trump-related cartoons at the exhibit. Those include a 2017 drawing by Jimmy Margulies of King Features Syndicate that portrays the iconic Twitter bird logo with a Trump hairstyle, sitting in a birdcage lined with newspapers.

Margulies said in an email that it’s a challenge not to draw about the president every day, “though he probably does or says several things each day that are worthy of a cartoon.”

Telnaes noted that editorial cartoons have been an integral part of American political discourse for more than 250 years, since “Join, or Die” appeared in Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette in 1754. Worldwide, they’re an indicator of a nation’s freedom of expression.

“If there aren’t cartoonists creating tough, pointed satire against their politicians and policies, you can bet that country and its government doesn’t tolerate an individual’s right to free speech,” Telnaes said in an email.

In a 1971 cartoon by Karl Hubenthal in the now defunct-Los Angeles Examiner, a smug Supreme Court justice examines the decision upholding the printing of the Pentagon Papers. Far below, a woman tugs at his robe and questions “the moral question” of printing stolen government documents.

The headline: “Totally ignored.”

The inclusion of a cartoon from a long-gone paper underscores one of the biggest challenges for cartoonists: the decline of print newspapers and the elimination of many full-time cartooning jobs.

Twenty years ago, the country had about 150 full-time editorial cartoonists, according to Telnaes. Today it’s down to about 40.

Tough for Cartoonists to Make a Living

Just last week, longtime Columbus Dispatch editorial cartoonist Nate Beeler lost his job amid a series of nationwide layoffs by GateHouse Media. Beeler has a cartoon in the Ohio State exhibit that satirizes campus free speech “safe spaces.”

Concluding a series of Friday tweets about his layoff, Beeler said, “Lastly, my heart goes out to the other cartoonists and journalists across the nation caught up in these layoffs. It’s a devastating trend in the news business.”

“From the viewpoint of history, it is clear that our political discourse would have been considerably poorer without them.” — Justice William Rehnquist

While the digital age has created new opportunities, it’s still tough for cartoonists to make a living, Telnaes said. Meanwhile, social media has been both a blessing and a curse.

“Social media is both positive in that readers are more engaged and appreciative of cartoons but also enables special interest groups to target cartoonists and their publications when a cartoon challenges their beliefs and agenda,” she said.

In 1988, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld political cartoons as protected speech in a case involving a Hustler Magazine parody ad that lampooned the Rev. Jerry Falwell, founder of the Moral Majority, an ad that’s on display at the Ohio State exhibit.

Writing the court’s unanimous decision, Justice William Rehnquist noted that cartoonists have portrayed public figures through the ages in a manner unavailable to a photographer or portrait artist, sketching Abraham Lincoln’s “tall, gangling posture, Teddy Roosevelt’s glasses and teeth, and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s jutting jaw and cigarette holder.”

“From the viewpoint of history, it is clear that our political discourse would have been considerably poorer without them,” Rehnquist wrote.

“Front Line: Editorial Cartoonists and the First Amendment” runs through October at Ohio State University’s Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum.

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Musk, Vivek Will Form Outside Group to Advise White House on Government Efficiency

DON'T MISS

Fate of Clovis Trustee Race Still Up in the Air. So Are Clovis, Sanger School Bond Measures.

DON'T MISS

Richardson Widens Lead Over Bonakdar in Nail-Biting Race for Fresno City Council

DON'T MISS

What to Know About John Ratcliffe, Trump’s Pick for CIA Director

DON'T MISS

Here Are the People Trump Has Picked for Key Positions So Far

DON'T MISS

Waymo’s Robotaxis Now Open to Anyone Who Wants a Driverless Ride in Los Angeles

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Man Accused of Filing Fake Disability Claims in $300K Fraud Scheme

DON'T MISS

Trump Nominates Fox News Host Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary

DON'T MISS

Economists Warn of Inflation and Debt Risks in Trump’s Second Term Plans

DON'T MISS

How Many Smoke Shops Is Too Many? Fresno Plan Would Allow Only 49

UP NEXT

‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,’ a Christian Comedy, Scores With Audience in Fresno Premiere

UP NEXT

What to Stream: Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul, ‘Bad Sisters,’ Shawn Mendes, ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’

UP NEXT

Actor Tony Todd, Known for His Role in the Movie ‘Candyman’ and Other Films, Dies at 69

UP NEXT

Fresno Team Makes Low-Budget Horror Flicks Look Like Multi-Million-Dollar Productions

UP NEXT

Beyoncé Makes Grammy History With ‘Cowboy Carter,’ Leading 2025 Nominations

UP NEXT

Americans Seek Fresh Start Abroad as Election Sparks Expat Interest

UP NEXT

Central Valley Weekend Packed With Sports, Tacos, Magic and Local Entertainment

UP NEXT

Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine Strikes Deal to End Jail Stint

UP NEXT

Ruby Slippers From ‘The Wizard of Oz’ Are for Sale Nearly 2 Decades After They Were Stolen

UP NEXT

Nintendo Chief Insists the Switch Momentum Will Keep Going, Even After Its Successor

What to Know About John Ratcliffe, Trump’s Pick for CIA Director

10 hours ago

Here Are the People Trump Has Picked for Key Positions So Far

11 hours ago

Waymo’s Robotaxis Now Open to Anyone Who Wants a Driverless Ride in Los Angeles

11 hours ago

Fresno County Man Accused of Filing Fake Disability Claims in $300K Fraud Scheme

11 hours ago

Trump Nominates Fox News Host Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary

11 hours ago

Economists Warn of Inflation and Debt Risks in Trump’s Second Term Plans

11 hours ago

How Many Smoke Shops Is Too Many? Fresno Plan Would Allow Only 49

11 hours ago

US Says It Will Not Limit Israel Arms Transfers After Some Improvements in Flow of Aid to Gaza

11 hours ago

Who With Valley Ties Could Land Spots in the Trump Administration?

12 hours ago

Tulare Gang Member Gets Life Without Parole for 2022 Murders

14 hours ago

Trump Says Musk, Vivek Will Form Outside Group to Advise White House on Government Efficiency

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new “D...

10 hours ago

10 hours ago

Trump Says Musk, Vivek Will Form Outside Group to Advise White House on Government Efficiency

10 hours ago

Fate of Clovis Trustee Race Still Up in the Air. So Are Clovis, Sanger School Bond Measures.

10 hours ago

Richardson Widens Lead Over Bonakdar in Nail-Biting Race for Fresno City Council

10 hours ago

What to Know About John Ratcliffe, Trump’s Pick for CIA Director

11 hours ago

Here Are the People Trump Has Picked for Key Positions So Far

11 hours ago

Waymo’s Robotaxis Now Open to Anyone Who Wants a Driverless Ride in Los Angeles

A Fresno County man has been indicted on mail fraud charges for allegedly submitting over $300,000 in falsified disability claims using stolen identities. (GV Wire File)
11 hours ago

Fresno County Man Accused of Filing Fake Disability Claims in $300K Fraud Scheme

Pete Hegseth walks to an elevator for a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York, Dec. 15, 2016. (AP File)
11 hours ago

Trump Nominates Fox News Host Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary

Search

Send this to a friend