168) Racist Comics…

CHING CHOW by Sidney Smith (The Gumps) 3-30-1933 and Stanley Link (Tiny Tim) 7-23-1952 presented fortune cookie proverbs and Asian stereotypes. It ran for sixty years.

Racism was pretty prevalent in old comic strips. Disgusting stereotypes of blacks, Asians, Jews and other cultures often found their way to the comics page. Here are a few examples of inappropriate strips that couldn’t be published today. I’m posting these because I think they have historical significance in showing the systematic racism that permeated our society as reflected in our “humor.”

REDEYE by Gordon Bess mocked indigenous people. 10-26-1969

THE CAPTAIN AND THE KIDS by Rudolph Dirks, considered an early classic comic strip, made fun of immigrants and displayed unfortunate characterizations of black people. 6-14-1942

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