Journalism and Social Justice

This political cartoon was published in The Daily Texas on Tuesday.

I walked into class today and this was projected on the wall.

The discussion started. People started with trying to understand the satire and talking about the uncomfortable feelings that arose for them.

I chimed in.

I tried to explain that getting your cartoon to be recognized nationwide is an awesome thing. I said that I thought the cartoon itself was pretty awesome.

The discussion continued. People said they thought it was a bad representation for UT. They questioned how this was allowed. They talked about the emotional connections that this cartoon can bring up. They talked about Stephanie, the creator of this editorial cartoon, being kicked out of school. "It will happen," one professor said.

I got frustrated and walked out of class.

Here I am to explain myself.

I was upset. I figured it would be better to walk around outside and cry by myself then to explode in class without being able to formulate all my thoughts.

So here are those thoughts.

Editorial cartoons are meant to comment on the greater society.

THIS IS NOT A RACIST CARTOON. This is a cartoon ABOUT race issues.

We live in a society in which the media coverage of news doesn't turn off. It is a 24 hour system. The media can take a breaking story, publish a million news articles, editorials and blogs before the week is over. With this much competition, a reporter's goal is to get the most readers. How do we do this? Sometimes unethically. Sometimes we focus too much on one aspect of the story and forget about the whole big picture. "If it bleeds it leads." "The more controversial the subject matter the more readers."

That being said, the point of drawing a cartoon or writing a story is to stir the pot. Get people talking. Make people uncomfortable.

In this particular cartoon, I think the dialogue is important. Using the word "colored" questions where we are at this point in time. Is race really an issue in 2012, just as it was in 1965? The answer is yes. But, the cartoon is also holding Media responsible. As journalists, we have to question our motives is the stories we right, the facts we focus on, and the reason behind our message.

As social workers, we have to be careful in our discussions not to quickly jump on the bandwagon. It's easy to see this cartoon and feel outraged. But it's our job to try and understand every aspect of the situation.

Also, with the Trayvon Martin case, it is easy to say, "This is a HATE CRIME." But we are missing the point. We must focus first and foremost on getting Zimmerman in front of a court. Only after that should we discuss the implications of hate. But without a trial, Zimmerman will not ever be held accountable for killing a teenage boy.

One last point. If Stephanie is kicked out of UT, as the professor said she would be, where is journalism headed in our country. The first amendment allows free speech. UT students and faculty should not be ashamed that a journalist at our school is making headlines for adding to the discourse. And, the editorial bored of the DT should not apologize. The opinion pages are a place for this discourse. If we start rejecting material because it is going to press buttons, then we are regressing in the age of information.