My Black Power Comic

A friend once referred to The Boondocks comic strip as my "black power comic." He was correct. I love The Boondocks comic and TV show. I would die for it. The Freeman family, consisting of Huey, Riley, and their grandfather represent the 3 different 20th century approaches to race by African-Americans. Their grandfather, Robert, epitomizes traditional black Southern Civil Rights-era views and strategies on race relations. Huey, named after co-founder of the Black Panthers, Huey P. Newton, represents the Black Power and militant movements of the late 60s and 70s. Riley, on the other hand, symbolizes the current generation of black youths enamored with gangsta rap and that sub-culture, which according to his brother Riley is known for ignorance, lack of foresight, and concerned only with instant gratification. Of course you  have to love Thomas Dubois, the "Uncle Tom" black neighbor in the blindingly white suburb of Woodcrest. His white wife Sarah and their adorable and innocent biracial daughter Jazmine provide another look at race relations through interracial relationships. Of course the comic also brought up the savagery from which whites have risen in this country, an issue that they don't like to be reminded of.

So right away black readers who saw Boondocks in the newspapers had representation and a voice for the first time. This is the only comic that ever addressed issues of race with black characters and was actually funny and insightful.Huey's pro-black and angry rhetoric greeted millions of Americans in the morning hours for approximately six years, 1999-2005. Indeed, as Huey's Brooklyn friend Caesar once says in one strip, "When are millions of Americans ready to wake up to the angry rantings of a black kid." Well, it actually happened! Moreover, I'm glad creator Aaron McGruder moved away from family-based humor after 9/11, thereby making The Boondocks the most critical and political comic in the country.

After 9/11, Huey began blasting the Bush regime at every opportunity. Although Bush was always a target of Huey's rantings, newspaper (The Free Huey, named after Black Panther Huey Newton) and dialogue with his friends and family, the first 2 years of the comic focused on the move from the Southside of Chicago to the white suburb of Woodcrest and the sudden impact the Freemans had on their white neighbors and vice versa. As you can imagine, hilarity ensued from these encounters and reactions and I believe Huey's character, beliefs, and actions exposed white folks to different aspects and perspectives on black radicalism.

Unfortunately too many whites don't realize that McGruder is also satirizing elements of black radicalism and criticizes blacks just as much as he criticizes or makes fun of white people and white culture. McGruder pokes fun at Huey Freeman's crazy beliefs in conspiracies, criticizes the economic philosophy of black nationalism and forms of black cultural nationalism, such as Kwanzaa. Furthermore, through Riley and Grandad, he criticizes "studio gangsters," integration and outmoded forms of resistance to racism and segregation advocated by Tom Dubois and Grandad and the NAACP. So I can say that I disagree with a friend who feels that the comic strip was too hostile toward white readers but perhaps he just does not understand due to his lack of exposure to black nationalism and African American history.

Anyway, The Boondocks television show is hilarious but lacks the political punch of the comic. Obviously the switch in format does not allow the show to keep up with everyday news in politics. Instead, the TV program focuses on the characters and uses more controversial humor. As Aaron McGruder himself admits, it's good that the program came on the air after Dave Chappelle, whose television show opened the way for more freedom of expression and less censorship in television.

However, I am disappointed with the lack of Michael Caesar in the first 2 seasons of The Boondocks. This Brooklyn youth transplanted in a white suburb provided a lot of humor and served as a foil to Huey in the comic. I also enjoyed his nerdy conversations with Huey about X-Men, film, Star Wars, and kung fu movies. I have yet to see most episodes of the 3rd season of The Boondocks but the season premiere made fun of black America's love of Barack Obama. As Huey correctly predicted, the election of Barack Obama did not change the system or improve conditions for black folks.

In conclusion, I will simply quote Huey Freeman's comments on the George Bush regime during a Thanksgiving prayer. Remember this came out recently after 9/11 while most comics and journalists were defending Bush and the curtailment of civil liberties. Matter of fact, Huey is the only character in comic strip history who ever advocated theft since the whole country was built on stolen land. I love this brother.