Trying to Trash Betsy DeVos | |
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Artist | Glenn McCoy |
Year | 2017 |
Trying to Trash Betsy DeVos is a political cartoon by American cartoonist Glenn McCoy, published on February 13, 2017, on the GoComics website as well as the Belleville News-Democrat website. The cartoon centrally depicts Betsy DeVos, the United States Secretary of Education in the Trump Administration and is thematically based on the 1964 painting The Problem We All Live With by Norman Rockwell. It attracted critical commentary in mainstream media.
The cartoon depicts a small version of DeVos walking and surrounded by large men in suits, who are possibly guards. [1] The remains of a thrown tomato can also be seen. The word "CONSERVATiVE" is scrawled on the background wall in gray graffiti in addition to a red anarchy symbol. The abbreviation for the National Education Association is also written on the lefthand side. [2]
The cartoon was published online on February 13, 2017, on the GoComics website, in addition to multiple newspapers. [3] It was also published on the website of the Belleville News-Democrat . [4]
Commentators point out that the political cartoon draws directly upon The Problem We All Live With by Norman Rockwell, which depicts Ruby Bridges being escorted to school as a child during a time when crowds of white protesters would actively prevent desegregation efforts initiated by the Brown v. Board of Education case. [1] [5] McCoy confirmed that he used the Rockwell piece as an inspiration for the political cartoon. [6]
On social media, the cartoon was met with unfavorable criticism. [5] Readers of the Belleville News-Democrat demanded both that McCoy apologize and that he be terminated from his position. [6]
Many complaints centered upon an alleged false equivalency. Among others, Chelsea Clinton responded publicly by expressing outrage at the cartoon, and subsequently pointed out The Problem We All Live With on Twitter. [3] [7] One reason for this reaction was due to the explicit comparison of opposition to DeVos with themes of racism explored in Norman Rockwell's The Problem We All Live With. [7] [8] [9] German Lopez at Vox.com opined that "protests against DeVos and racial segregation in American schools are not the same". [10] Jillian Steinhauer asserted that McCoy's work is an example of false equivalence, saying, "Glenn McCoy appropriated Norman Rockwell’s The Problem We All Live With, replacing the six-year-old black girl who desegregated a public school with the billionaire Secretary of Education". [2] USA Today highlighted a comment from a reader who responded to the image, claiming it represents an example of white privilege. [3]
A representative for the National Education Association offered no comment on the political cartoon. [3]
McCoy responded to criticism via e-mail, saying, "I regret if anyone was offended by my choice of metaphors", and noted that he wanted to draw attention to and start public discussion on the behavior of protesters. [3] In a statement on the Belleville News-Democrat website, McCoy also expressed disappointment that, "decades beyond the civil rights protests... people are still being denied the right to speak freely or do their jobs or enter public buildings because others disagree with who they are or how they think". Faced with accusations that the image is hateful, McCoy defended his work, saying, "I thought I was speaking out against hate... You may disagree with her on issues but I didn't see any hate coming from her. I did, however, see hate going in the other direction, which is what made me think of the Rockwell image. That was the only comparison I was drawing". [3] [11]
Norman Percevel Rockwell was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of the country's culture. Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life he created for The Saturday Evening Post magazine over nearly five decades. Among the best-known of Rockwell's works are the Willie Gillis series, Rosie the Riveter, The Problem We All Live With, Saying Grace, and the Four Freedoms series. He is also noted for his 64-year relationship with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), during which he produced covers for their publication Boys' Life, calendars, and other illustrations. These works include popular images that reflect the Scout Oath and Scout Law such as The Scoutmaster, A Scout Is Reverent, and A Guiding Hand.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is a regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the Belleville News-Democrat, Alton Telegraph, and Edwardsville Intelligencer. The publication has received 19 Pulitzer Prizes.
Bethune–Cookman University is a private historically black university in Daytona Beach, Florida. Bethune–Cookman University is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The primary administration building, White Hall, and the Mary McLeod Bethune Home are historic venues.
Patrick Bruce "Pat" Oliphant is an Australian-born American artist whose career spanned more than sixty years. His body of work primarily focuses on American and global politics, culture, and corruption; he is particularly known for his caricatures of American presidents and other powerful leaders. Over the course of his long career, Oliphant produced thousands of daily editorial cartoons, dozens of bronze sculptures, and a large oeuvre of drawings and paintings. He retired in 2015.
Christopher Terry Mosher, is a Canadian political cartoonist for the Montreal Gazette. He draws under the name Aislin, a rendition of the name of his eldest daughter Aislinn. Aislin's drawings have also appeared in numerous international publications, such as Punch, The Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, National Lampoon, Time, The Washington Star, The New York Times and the Canadian edition of The Reader's Digest. According to his self-published website, as of 2020, he is the author of 51 books.
Ruby Nell Bridges Hall is an American civil rights activist. She was the first African American child to attend formerly whites-only William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana during the New Orleans school desegregation crisis on November 14, 1960. She is the subject of a 1964 painting, The Problem We All Live With, by Norman Rockwell.
Judge was a weekly satirical magazine published in the United States from 1881 to 1947. It was launched by artists who had left the rival Puck Magazine. The founders included cartoonist James Albert Wales, dime novels publisher Frank Tousey and author George H. Jessop.
William Henry ('Will') Dyson was an Australian illustrator, artist and political cartoonist who achieved international recognition. He initially worked as a freelance artist in Australia, developing a specialty as a caricaturist, notably in The Bulletin magazine. In 1909 Dyson married Ruby Lindsay and the couple settled in London soon afterwards. As cartoonist for The Daily Herald newspaper, Dyson became widely known as an illustrator and commentator supporting progressive social reforms in Britain. His cartoons were often controversial, tackling difficult issues such as poverty, inequality and war, and were characterised by their biting wit and artistic impact. At the outbreak of World War I Dyson directed his scathing artwork at German militarism. In 1916 he applied to join the Australian forces at the Western Front as an artist. He was appointed an honorary lieutenant and joined the Anzac troops in France in January 1917. By the following May his appointment as Australia's first official war artist was formalised. After the death of his wife in March 1919 Dyson went through a difficult emotional period, during which his artistic output suffered. In late 1924 he returned to Australia after accepting a contract to work for the Herald publishing group in Melbourne. Dyson returned to England in 1930. He died in London in 1938, aged 57.
Elisabeth Dee DeVos is an American politician, philanthropist, and former government official who served as the 11th United States secretary of education from 2017 to 2021. DeVos is known for her conservative political activism, and particularly her support for school choice, school voucher programs, and charter schools. She was Republican national committeewoman for Michigan from 1992 to 1997 and served as chair of the Michigan Republican Party from 1996 to 2000, and again from 2003 to 2005. She has advocated for the Detroit charter school system and she is a former member of the board of the Foundation for Excellence in Education. She has served as chair of the board of the Alliance for School Choice and the Acton Institute and headed the All Children Matter PAC.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the Pittsburgh Gazette, established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the Allegheny Mountains, the paper formed under its present title in 1927 from the consolidation of the Pittsburgh Gazette Times and The Pittsburgh Post.
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Glenn McCoy is a conservative American cartoonist, whose work includes the comic strip The Duplex and the daily panel he does with his brother Gary entitled The Flying McCoys. McCoy previously produced editorial cartoons until May 2018, when he refocused his career on animations after being discharged from his job of 22 years at the Belleville News-Democrat. All three cartoon features are syndicated by Andrews McMeel Syndication.
Patrick "Pat" Bagley is an American editorial cartoonist and journalist for The Salt Lake Tribune in Salt Lake City, Utah, and an author and illustrator of several books.
The Problem We All Live With is a 1964 painting by Norman Rockwell that is considered an iconic image of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. It depicts Ruby Bridges, a six-year-old African-American girl, on her way to William Frantz Elementary School, an all-white public school, on November 14, 1960, during the New Orleans school desegregation crisis. Because of threats of violence against her, she is escorted by four deputy U.S. marshals; the painting is framed so that the marshals' heads are cropped at the shoulders, making Bridges the only person fully visible. On the wall behind her are written the racial slur "nigger" and the letters "KKK"; a smashed and splattered tomato thrown against the wall is also visible. The white protesters are not visible, as the viewer is looking at the scene from their point of view. The painting is oil on canvas and measures 36 inches (91 cm) high by 58 inches (150 cm) wide.
William Frantz Elementary School is an American elementary school located at 3811 North Galvez Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70117. Along with McDonogh No. 19 Elementary School, it was involved in the New Orleans school desegregation crisis during 1960.
Catherine Elizabeth Lhamon is an American attorney and government official who is the assistant secretary for civil rights at the Department of Education. She previously served in this position from 2013 to 2017. During her tenure, Lhamon instituted changes to Title IX rules that were praised by some feminist and progressive groups but received criticism across the political spectrum as violations of due process. She was also deputy chair of the United States Domestic Policy Council for racial justice and equality from January to October 2021 and chaired the United States Commission on Civil Rights from 2016 to 2021.
Candice Erin Jackson is an American lawyer and former government official from California. She served in the Trump administration as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Strategic Operations and Outreach in the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Education, and the Office's Acting Assistant Secretary from April 2017 to July 2018. From July 2018 to January 2021, she served as the Deputy General Counsel of the Department of Education.
The College Fix is an American conservative leaning news website focused on higher education. It was created in 2011 by journalist John J. Miller and is published by the nonprofit 501(c)(3) Student Free Press Association (SFPA). The site features "right-minded news and commentary" and often reports on what it describes as "political correctness" with a mission of exposing liberal “bias and abuse” at American colleges.