Candorville 1/18/09: The Inauguration
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January 18th, 2009

Candorville 1/18/09: The Inauguration

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Sorry, this item is sold out.The Inauguration of Obama


Discussion (33)¬

  1. lisapaloma says:

    Beautiful. I couldn't help noticing, though, that women are underrepresented. Shirley Chisholm? Maya Angelou? Rosa Parks? Angela Davis?

  2. Anthony says:

    I'm somewhat conservative but like his poster a lot. Our struggle is the same. Some take a different road. The collective struggle and battles of all these folks whether Booker T. , Condi (if it is indeed her- looks like her to me), or Malcolm or Jesse all were part of making Obama #44. Nice poster. Looking to purchase for my home office.

  3. […] Almost all the posters have now been sold. There are only 19 left from this print run, and once they’re gone, any new orders will have to wait for a second print run (so the turnaround time will be about three weeks). So, if you haven’t yet ordered and you’d like to get the poster sooner rather than later, order today! […]

  4. A Proud Liberal says:

    I believe those who believe Condi Rice is pictured have been mistaken. This is really Michelle Obama; I have done double takes on pictures of her that could be mistaken for being of Rice.

    For the three unidentified at the top center, I believe these would be the three civil right workers killed by the KKK and buried in an earthen dam. They made the ultimate sacrifice trying to get African Americans registered to vote. They were James Chaney, a 21-year-old black man from Meridian, Mississippi; Andrew Goodman, a 20-year-old white Jewish anthropology student from New York; and Michael Schwerner, a 24-year-old white Jewish CORE organizer and former social worker also from New York.

  5. 2learn says:

    The pictures of the slaves to the left of Armstrong, Truman and Atucus are from a group picture by James Gibson of “Group of contraband at Foller’s House, Cuberland Landing, Va.
    May 14th,1862. Found under Black History on Goggle. I knew I had seen the young man next to Atucus before. The only one I have yet to find is the man behind/between J. Jackson and Stowe. That too is possibly an old “slave” or post war photo yet to be found.
    Thanks for the history in time for “Black History” month and the imagery of our lives

  6. […] Sunday’s Candorville was a tribute to everyone who ever fought, struggled, marched or died to make Obama’s […]

  7. […] Sunday’s Candorville was a tribute to everyone who ever fought, struggled, marched or died to make Obama’s […]

  8. Darrin Bell says:

    I won’t debate that with you, but this poster isn’t abut who would’ve supported Obama. For instance, I think it’s likely Abraham Lincoln would’ve been offended by the thought that a black man would be leading the country. Lincoln was a product of his times who believed blacks were innately inferior. Malcolm X was a product of his times who believed that blacks who didn’t agree with him were house slaves. Both were relics, in a sense, but both contributed in vastly different ways to the empowerment of black Americans. This cartoon isn’t about the opinions and ideologies of the people represented; it’s about recognizing the people whose sacrifices and actions made this moment possible. How they would’ve felt about Obama’s policies isn’t relevant to me.

  9. aaron1975 says:

    The appearance of Malcolm X in this poster is quite laughable. If Malcolm X were alive today, he would be pretty disgusted by Obama’s support for wars against Muslim people in Iraq and Afghanistan. Malcolm X had a word for people like Obama: “house slave.”

  10. bleudiable says:

    Darrin,

    I saw you withdrew your “official” list of attendees, and I agree that no list is better. I teach middle school and would like to see how many of the figures my students could name. I admit that Google Images helped me with many of the pictures, but you had to know hair/clothing styles to get on the right track.

    It was interesting that you included Eisenhower but no Kennedys and one writer, one athlete, and one musician, and probably not the ones that most of us would have chosen. I have liked the edginess of “Candorville” since we started getting it in the Raleigh paper, and I think your selections reflect your strip’s humorously cynical view of race in America. Just my $.02.

    Looking forward to seeing John Edwards again soon.

  11. […] This remarkable strip is available as an 11″ x 17″ poster on the Candorville website. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Curtis (3/22/08)Op/Ed: […]

  12. dman says:

    The three men between John Brown and A. Phillip Randolph are Michael Schwerner, James Chany and Andrew Goodman. They were Civil Rights workers killed on June 21, 1964 in Mississippi. Awesome poster!

  13. Darrin Bell says:

    On second thought, I’m not going to post my list of the attendees. The prospect of people researching it on their own and arriving at different interpretations is compelling to me. It seems no matter how certain people are about the identities, people e-mailing me tend to see their own personal favorites in the crowd, even if I didn’t include them.

    That’s fascinating.

  14. RMartoc says:

    Bleudiable,
    The woman whose illustration is beside Jessie Jackson might be Harriet Beecher Stowe. We’ll see.

    Mr. Bell,
    Great collage.

  15. molokai says:

    I believe these are the people in the picture:

    Bottom row L-R

    Emmet Till, Rosa Parks, Barack Obama, Martin Luther King, Chief Douglas Thurgood Marshall, Frederick Douglass, boxer Jack Johnson, Crispus Attucks

    Colin Powell, Malcomn X behind Emmet Till and Rosa Parks

    Behind Colin L-R
    George Washington Carver, Booker T. Washington, Condaleeza Rice, Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln, Dred Scott, Lyndon Johnson, Harry Truman

    Back Row, L-R
    Jesse Jackson, Unknown (behind), Abigail Adams, abolitionist John Brown, Unknown-possibly Smokey Robinson, Unknown, Unknown, A. Philip Randolph, Huey Newton, Dwight Eisenhower, Louis Armstrong

  16. Ken says:

    Darrin,
    Sign the original and send it to the White House. Obama may not put it up on his wall but it will end up in the archives and could end up in his library some day.
    Your tribute to the history behind Obama could become part of history.

  17. Darrin Bell says:

    Thank you all for your feedback. When I thought about how best to portray this moment in history, my first thought was “this moment in history has been happening for 400 years.” It was all tied together in my mind, like an iron chain. This time we’re living in is the time our ancestors dreamed of, and held in their hearts as a glimmer of hope. All their sacrifices and struggles were predicated on that hope. And what we’re doing today is the inevitable continuation of what they began. It’s as if as a people we thought of getting out of bed centuries ago, we put one foot on the ground in 1865, the other in 1965, and on Tuesday, we stand up. It’s all been one continuous motion. Obama’s inauguration isn’t about him, it’s about everyone who was ever a part of it. I’ll post a complete list of names later this afternoon (I stayed up all night working on a week of comics, and need to get some sleep.

    Many of you have asked if this strip is available as a poster, and it is. The service I originally used yesterday discontinued the poster, so I’m having them printed elsewhere. You could order your copy/copies of the 17″ by 11″ full color poster via the Paypal button above.

  18. bleudiable says:

    Moving to our right from Frederick Douglass is (I’m 80% sure–I can’t find this exact image)Jack Johnson, the controversial boxer (an interesting choice over, say, Joe Louis) and (I’m 100% sure) Crispus Attucks, first casualty of the American Revolution at the Boston Massacre. I also would appreciate help with the gentleman in white tie and tails between Lincoln and Johnson and the two figures behind/right of Jesse Jackson (the 18th Century white woman and the haunting photo of the black man–which I know I have seen many times, but I’m having a brain f@rt).

  19. jpbfrank says:

    I want to second what so many have said, I was caught off guard when I looked at your comic today, the power of that image was instant. The image of all those great people, many long since passed away stirred up in me the hope that somehow their spirits would be on the stage to see this historic event. Your image showed just such an event. Many of the folk in your comic will be on stage in flesh and blood and will share with all those that came before them and with Barock Obama in this wonderful day.

  20. pagesprng says:

    THANKS! Your comic stripe took my breath away. My time spent marching in the 60″s were worth it.

  21. abaragona says:

    P.S. Booker T. Washington above Malcolm. Help with the others I mentioned will be appreciated.

  22. abaragona says:

    You lost LenMar. Get over it. And while you’re on about William Ayers, ask Sarah Palin about her husband and his separatist party, founded by a man who said he doesn’t want to be buried under America’s “God damned flag.” How’s that for a patriotic pal. The only person who doesn’t belong in this profound picture is Condoleezza Rice–couldn’t Jackie Robinson have been substituted for her?

    Oh, and the man between Goodman and Huey Newton is, I think, Ralph Ellison. But who’s that in front of Ellison, between Lincoln and Johnson? And who are te two people to the right of Douglass? And the person above Malcolm X? Those are the only ones I can’t figure out.

  23. abaragona says:

    This strip is going on my office door on Tuesday (to replace all the stuff I’ve got there about Bush). But I would like to have the poster to put in its place–however, when I click on the link to order it, it goes nowhere. Also, I agree that a key to the figures would be nice. A friend of mine and I have identified all but maybe 4 or 5 (excluding the poignant pictures of the nameless slaves), but we’re stumped on those few.

  24. LenMar says:

    Regarding your cartton of January 18 and Obama’s inauguration. To truly reflect a historical
    essence you should have included caricatures of Rev.Jeremiah Wright, Illinois Governor Blagoyavich, U.S. terrorist William Ayers, George Soros and all the mainstream liberal types who have crowned the man as the new “Messiah.”

  25. PeaceZGood says:

    I found a video which morphs the 44 presidents to Bolero. It’s almost as good as this cartoon.
    http://www.flixxy.com/presidents-morphing.htm But, this cartoon has more meaning. Actually, the video is not even a close second or third.

  26. PacKiT0 says:

    Very powerful indeed!

  27. cherylvan says:

    Awesome, Darrin! What a great tribute to Barak Obama and all of the people that are now living and those that have gone before him. Truly an awesome tribute today. Thanks so much for sharing it will all of us.

  28. MCsweeTea says:

    I cried. I really did.

  29. jjwintrs says:

    Wow. Yes, this gave me pause. It reminded me that we all stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. As always, keep up the good work Darrin!
    To B.Rhodes: I think the figure you mention is A. Philip Randolph; founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Though there are others I do not recognize, and believe that some are not recognizable names, though the instance of the photos are–and some may research the other direction…once they know a name, they’ll look it up.

  30. B Rhodes says:

    I hope the artist doesn’t tell us who’s in the picture. I think it’s better if people figure it out on their own by looking up historical civil rights figures. Maybe that way we’ll all learn something. I spent the morning “researching” on Wikipedia, and I’ve got all but one (the gentleman next to Huey Newton. Haven’t yet figured out who he is).

  31. PeaceZGood says:

    My heart jumped when I saw this.

  32. brauschbys says:

    I’m sorry to admit that I do not recognize every face here. Is the artist willing to identify those we (admittedly) should know? Thanks!

  33. dave_at_efi says:

    WOW! Great strip. Brought tears to my eyes.