A Matter of OpinionTrayvon Martin and The Case of Yellow Journalism

The Daily Texan ^ | 27 Mar 2012 | Stephanie Eisner

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Editor's note: This comic was temporarily taken down at 2:20 p.m. to alleviate web traffic and prevent the web site from crashing. It was republished at 4:50 p.m

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Follow up story :An editorial cartoon about the Trayvon Martin case published on Tuesday’s Daily Texan Opinion page sparked controversy both on and off campus.

The cartoon shows a mother reading to her child the following words: “And then ... the big bad white man killed the handsome, sweet, innocent colored boy.” She is also holding a book with the title “Treyvon (sic) Martin and the case of yellow journalism.” The cartoon misspells Martin’s first name.

Trayvon Martin was a 17-year-old, African-American teenager from Sanford, Fla., who was killed last month allegedly by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who claims the shooting was in self-defense. The case has sparked a heated, national discussion on the nature of contemporary racism.

Several organizations on campus and local media outlets contacted the Texan via email, phone and social networks to seek an explanation of the intention behind the cartoon. National and local media, including Gawker and Huffington Post, reported about the cartoon.

Ashley Robinson, president of the Black Student Alliance on campus, said she finds the word “colored” problematic.

“It [the word] is associated with the time of segregation, and I was surprised to see it printed in The Daily Texan,” Robinson said.

http://www.dailytexanonline.com/university/2012/03/28/daily-texan-editorial-cartoon-draws-local-national-controversy

Cartoon at http://dailytexanonline.com/blog/matter-opinion/2012/03/27/trayvon-martin-and-case-yellow-journalism

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The cartoonist could have written: “boy of color” but that’s problematic too.
Or “person/young man of color,” but that sounds like something a retard would come up with.
I mean, a disabled person.
Oops, I mean a “person with a disability”.
Uh, I mean it sounds sophomoric. Dang!
Something a “second year student” would ....
Never mind.