Editorial Cartoon

By Elle Knofczynski

I created this editorial cartoon in order to highlight the seemingly recent increase to police brutality. While it is an issue that has haunted this nation for years, media sources seem to be recognizing it more and more, especially in black and brown communities. This subject is really important to me because in Portland, many people claim to be liberal and inclusive, however Portland is also one of the whitest cities in the country, making it easy for people to be ‘inclusive’ if there isn’t anyone outside the ‘norm’ to include. One can claim to stand in solidarity with black and brown people, but only people of color have the right to offer them the title as an ally.

In my cartoon, some of the techniques I used were symbolism and allusion. I decided to not draw faces on the characters, highlighting how many news and media sources offer statistics when discussing police brutality, but neglect to include real stories. For the same purpose, I alluded to the murder of Atatiana Jefferson, a young black woman who was shot and killed in her own home by a white police officer while her 8-year-old nephew was present. 

There are so many different ways to make political commentaries, and I think editorial cartoons are a really big part of that. It allows people to include art, politics and opinions, oftentimes involving humor or exaggeration. However, they can still have a more serious undertone. It’s a creative way to express one’s political views with the world in a way that others can relate to.