Affirmative Action

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION CARTOONS

Cartoon #12

Brenna Kelly

PUBLICATION Cartoonist Group DATE January 17, 2003 (Although this cartoon is too old to use for credit, we thought it brought up an interesting point, so we included it for fun.)
CARTOONIST Signe Wilkinson U.S.
TITLE OF CARTOON “Admissions”

TONE OF CARTOON:

1. Positive
2. Framing is supportive of supporters
3. Framing is supportive of opposed

What action is taking place in this cartoon?

Five types or students are seen in various poses — holding books, with a backpack — and there is one man at the end with the label “didn’t get it.” He is pointing to a man on the end of the line who is labelled “minority,” and shouting, “It’s his fault!” The top of the cartoon reads “admissions.”

ANALYSIS & CONTEXT:

There are many types of people that get into universities because of loopholes — like being the son of a big donor or being a desired athlete — but the one who didn’t get into school is blaming the minority. Or, more broadly, Title IX, which is often seen as a quota that universities have to meet for minorities and women.

There aren’t very many symbols, as most of what is pictures it labeled. But the student that were accepted for various reasons is symbolizing groups that don’t show up on the radar but still get advantages that some deem unfair.

The cartoonist isn’t exactly supporting Title IX, but he is saying there are issues to complain about beyond Title IX.

Cartoon #13

Brenna Kelly

PUBLICATION Cagle Cartoons DATE April 22, 2014
CARTOONIST Dave Granlund U.S.
TITLE OF CARTOON State Affirmative Action Bans

What action is taking place in the cartoon?

Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas is banging his gavel, and with a stone-face, he says, “I concur… I am not on to be playing the race card.” Above is a heading: “Supreme Court approves state bans on affirmative action.”

ANALYSIS & CONTEXT:

In Clarence Thomas’ book, My Grandfather’s Son, he wrote, “At least southerners were up front about their bigotry: You knew exactly where they were coming from. Not so the paternalistic big-city whites who offered you a helping hand so long as you were careful to agree with them, but slapped you down if you started acting as if you didn’t know you place” (Fuchs, 2013). Throughout his life, Thomas had frequently opposed affirmative action — he says people have discriminated against him because they assumed he received special treatment (“positive discrimination”) in college (Fuchs, 2013).

Thomas’ opposition of Title IX doesn’t mean he is pro-discrimination. Some people are simply against affirmative action because they see non-discrimination as a form of discrimination.

The image of the gavel hitting the table doesn't appear to be the "thud" you'd expect. Even for a cartoon, it looks... cartoon-ish. It might be the contrast between his blank face and the energy in the gavel hit. It makes Thomas appear emotionless, almost.

This cartoon draws from the events of multiple stories to help create a snap-shot of racial issues in our country at that time. The racism that the paperboy is announcing has been discovered in America came from two events of publicly made racist remarks.The first string of racist remarks came from Donald Sterling, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers when, according to David Leon Moore of USA Today, Sterling was incriminated when, “public release of audiotapes in which a man said to be Sterling made racist remarks aimed at African Americans and, in one case, at (Magic) Johnson specifically.”(Moore, 2014). The second incident happened when according to Lauren Ashburn of Fox News, a Nevada rancher and prominent states-rights activist named Cliven Bundy made offensive racial remarks at a support rally for his cause. Ashburn reports that according to the New York Times, Bundy said of black people, “They abort their young children, they put their young men in jail because they never learned how to pick cotton. And, I’ve often wondered, are they better off as slaves, picking cotton and having a family and doing things, or are they better off under government subsidy.”(Ashburn, 2014). The text bubble over Lady Justice is referring to the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Michigan’s ban on affirmative action laws. According to Adam Liptalk of The New York Times, “The 6-2 ruling effectively endorsed similar measures in seven other states. It may also encourage other states to enact measures banning the use of race in admissions or to consider race-neutral alternatives to ensure diversity.” (Liptalk, 2014). The text bubble above the court building also refers to the same Supreme Court decision.

Cartoon #14

"Race"

Mark Rosa

PUBLICATION The Cagle Post DATE 4/28/2014

CARTOONIST David Fitzsimmons U.S.

TITLE OF CARTOON Race

TONE OF CARTOON:

1. Negative
2. Framing is opposed to supporters
3. Framing is supportive of opposed

What action is taking place in this cartoon?

In the foreground of this cartoon is a paper boy holding up a newspaper and yelling, “America discovers racists, nation shocked! Supreme Court puzzled!” The newspaper the boy is holding up has the words “Bundy” and “Sterling” printed on it. In the background we see the Supreme Court building but is labelled “JUSTICE FOR CORPORATIONS” instead of “EQUAL JUSTICE FOR ALL”. The Supreme Court building has a thought bubble above it saying, “How can that be? We just ruled that racism doesn’t exist in America.” The statues to the right and left of the entrance have been replaced with the elephant symbol of the Republican Party and Lady Justice. The elephant has an evil grin on his face and Lady Justice has thrown down her scale and rests head in hands, clearly distraught, with a thought bubble above her saying, “So long affirmative action…”

ANALYSIS & CONTEXT:

This cartoon uses the persuasive technique labeling to help get the point across. The boy who is announcing that racism was discovered in this country has the word “news” written on his hat. The cartoonist did this so that the reader will clearly understand that he is a paper boy trying to sell newspapers. Another possible reason the author did this was because not all young readers may even know what a paperboy is since the sale of newspapers on the street is so outdated. The Supreme Court building is labelled “JUSTICE FOR CORPORATIONS” to show the author’s opinion that Supreme Court rulings tend to benefit wealthy corporations in this country.

Symbolism is also used in this cartoon. The elephant outside the court building represents conservativism and the author may have used this technique in order to portray the Supreme Court’s protection of conservative interests through its rulings. An additional use of symbolism is found in the label on the Supreme Court building saying “JUSTICE FOR CORPORATIONS”. This represents the opinion that Supreme Court rulings often benefit major corporations and are not completely just. One more example of symbolism is found with the scale that was thrown to the ground by Lady Justice. This portrays the authors opinion that the Supreme Court rulings were not just and that we need affirmative action laws in this country to stop further discrimination. 

The ban on affirmative action at the university level is directly in support of the Title IX’s original language that schools are not required to grant "preferential or disparate treatment" based on race or gender but goes against the practice and enforcement of Title IX.

CARTOON #15

CARTOON NAME: Happy birthday Title IX

Brooke Bell

PUBLICATION: Stone Soup Cartoons DATE 06/23/2012

CARTOONIST: Jan Eliot U.S.

TITLE OF CARTOON: Happy birthday Title IX

TONE OF CARTOON:

1   Positive

2   Framing is supportive to supporters

3   Framing is opposed of opposers

What action is taking place in this cartoon?

In this cartoon a young girl is telling her grandma how she is going to a basketball camp during the summer. The grandma is pleased with the fact that 40 years of Title IX has paid off. Although, the girl does not even know about Title IX. This cartoon came out around the time of the 40 year anniversary of the passing of Title IX.

ANALYSIS:

This is positive cartoon, in support of Title IX. It came out in 2012, 40 years after being passed. It is a celebration of the growth in equality for women in sports and college.

Title IX was not initially just about sports. Women were also being excluded from certain colleges, graduate programs, law schools, medical schools, and other areas of study. This cartoon exemplifies some of the other opportunities Title IX opened up to women. According to Koplovitz, since the enactment of Title IX, women earn more than 50 percent of all medical and law degrees, 35 percent of business degrees and 18 percent of engineering degrees.

Throughout the cartoon strip different words are bolded. The cartoonist is a form of exaggeration to make a point. It isn’t an exaggeration of physical characteristics, but the bolded words still make a statement. For example the year 1972 is bolded to show that Title IX has been in place for 40 years.

It is interesting that the cartoonist chose to put an actual statement from Title IX right on the cartoon. This is effective because it’s not only a clarification, but a reminder for the audience. It helps to show exactly what Title IX is and why the grandma is supportive of it.