Students at the University of Virginia Protest Against Editorial Cartoons in the Campus Newspaper That Were Perceived as Racist

Hundreds of students at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville held a protest march demanding that the cartoonist for the student newspaper be fired. The newspaper published two cartoons that many students found racially offensive.

The first cartoon showed a group of dark-skinned men in loincloths battling each other with sticks, chairs, and old shoes. The caption read, “Ethiopian Food Fight.”

The second cartoon (shown above) depicts Thomas Jefferson holding a whip. A black woman, presumably Sally Hemings, the slave who allegedly fathered at least one child with Jefferson, is shown sitting on the bed. The caption reads, “Thomas, could we try role-play for a change?”

The cartoonist resigned his position on the student newspaper.

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