Lola Adesioye

I’ve written before about the dangers and sensitivities of using of monkey imagery when depicting black people. And the NY Post has now found itself embroiled in controversy over this cartoon:

I don’t care whether or not you think black people look like monkeys, or whether or not you think black people are being over sensitive about the topic, I’d advise anyone to stay as far away as possible from portraying black people as monkeys or in linking us with monkeys. The image of a black person as a monkey is highly offensive, derogatory and racist.

If you need an explanation as to why that’s the case, I think you are a bit…well…dim. But I’ll explain. A monkey is a primate. Even though monkeys are actually quite intelligent, in popular culture the monkey is considered less than human, stupid, simple, bestial and primitive. That’s why there are phrases like ‘aping around’ which suggest that someone is acting foolishly. It has never been a compliment to compare anyone – including GW Bush for those who want to evoke that disingenuous response – to a monkey. 

Futhermore, there is a very, very long and ugly history of dehumanizing black people by making them synonymous with monkeys. The monkey is a prominent part of racist iconography and propaganda.

Now, the guy who drew this cartoon says that he has simply linked two topical stories of the week: the story about Travis the chimp who went on the rampage in Conneticut, injured a woman and was subsequently shot dead by police, coupled with the signing of the economic stimulus plan. His thought, I suppose, is that the stimulus plan is so bad that monkeys could have written it. 

But many people know nothing about the chimp story. Most people consider Obama (as opposed to Nancy Pelosi, or Congress) responsible for the stimulus plan. In fact, the page facing the cartoon has a picture of Obama signing the bill.

So putting the stimulus plan and a chimp together immediately make most people think that the cartoon is saying that Obama – the first black President – is a monkey. And a dead one at that. The idea that it would be controversial or be seen to have racist undertones could not have been lost on the cartoonist. 

At the end of the day, a cartoon is an immediate visual which provokes immediate reactions. People don’t sit down and think ‘oh, I wonder what he meant’ – because that’s not the point of cartoons. Even satirical ones. If he wanted that, he should have written an op-ed piece. 

I’m surprised none of that was considered before the cartoon was printed.

Anyway, the bottom line is: link monkeys with black people at your peril.