Inky Defends Controversial Cartoon
Paper defends it as a "classic" by one of the Inky's great journalists
NBCPhiladelphia.com
LaGreta Brown, principal of South Philly High, says she's nothing like the Philadelphia Inquirer's "Nap Time" cartoon character which shows her sleeping on the job. The Inky stands by the cartoon and the paper's investigation into how violence and attacks on Asian...
South Philly High's principal wants you to know she is not sleeping on the job.
And the Philadelphia Inquirer wants you to know they stand staunchly behind the cartoon that put LaGreta Brown on the defense and brought calls for condemnation from civil rights leader, Jerry Mondesire.
"I'm not tired. I'm not clueless," LaGreta Brown said in front of the district's School Reform Commission Wednesday.
Brown said she was "offended and appalled" by Tony Auth's editorial cartoon.
It's titled "Nap Time" and shows the principal snoozing on her desk with the phone off the hook and a busted window behind her.
The cartoon ran on the Inquirer's editorial page Tuesday. It followed Sunday's front page story about a failure of leadership on the day Asian students were attacked at the school. The story lead read:
"On Dec. 3, 2009 as Asian students endured a daylong series of attacks at South Philadelphia High, the adults responsible for their safety were often confused or unsure how to respond."
"How dare anyone portray me as sleeping, clueless, or in any other word knocked out," Brown said, explaining that she often works 12-hour days and is "exceedingly capable" of serving the students and the community with "honor and dignity."
Inquirer Editor, Bill Marimow defended the cartoon and its creator, saying Auth was one of the paper's great journalists and one of the country's best cartoonists.
"In my opinion, the cartoon depicting the principal of South Philadelphia High School was Tony's point of view and it's absolutely a classic editorial cartoon," Marimow said.
"The work of an editorial cartoonist is to take a position. And given the facts that I've read and heard, it seems crystal clear that the events of the day on Dec. 3, at South Philadelphia High School were deeply distressing," added Marimow.
Mondesire, head of the city's NAACP, denounced the cartoon, called it disgusting and called on the School Reform Commission to condemn it.
"It is a lie. It is offensive. The Inquirer should be ashamed of what it did to Mrs. Brown," Mondesire said.
"I think it's important to know that in the 38 years that I've known Tony, he's been a staunch advocate for civil rights," Marimow said. "I also think it [the cartoon] has everything to do with the events at South Philadelphia High School that day and nothing to do with the race of the participants."
Posted Thursday, Mar 11, 2010 - 4:54 PM EST
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