More NY Times Op-Eds!

I had a few more pieces for the NY Times Op-Ed over the last several days. This piece was slotted to run last Friday, but ended up going into yesterday's Sunday paper, where I was able to give it some color. For a piece on the outrageous financial costs (the moral costs are a given) associated with Trump's plan for a border wall, detention centers, deportations, etc.

This piece ran last week, looking at Trump's pick for National Security Advisor, General McMaster, and advising Trump to defer to the General's expertise.

This one is out today, for an editorial explaining that the one proposal Trump made during the campaign that could get support across the political spectrum- his infrastructure plan- is indefinitely on hold, and might not get off the ground for years, if ever.

Always a blast working on these super-quick turnaround pieces! Thank you to my AD on these three, Sarah!

The Grand Old Pity Party

A couple months back, before we moved, I got a commission from The Atlantic magazine for a feature on the current state (as well as some history) of the GOP. It was highlighting how the Republican party, under the banner of Trump, has become the party of White rage. When Republicans in California turned to White Nativism in the 1990s (by bashing Mexican immigrants), the party all but disappeared from the political map in that state. History seems to be repeating itself with the rhetoric of people like Trump, as he plays on the fears of some Whites that their country has been taken from them.

As is occasionally the case, the magazine ended up going the route of photography instead of illustration, but I was so excited about a few of my sketches that I decided to finish them, just for fun.

The red/white/black color palette is meant to evoke a connection to the fact that several prominent White Power/Supremacy groups have voiced support for Trump.

As the Latino population in the US continues to grow, anti-immigrant rhetoric and proposals such as the "wall" at the Mexican border, causes Republican support to dwindle. As the article states, even among GOP members, the "wall" was the most important factor dividing pro-Trump and anti-Trump Republicans.

The piece likened this "White Strategy" to another infamous election scheme: Nixon's "Southern Strategy." Both played on White fears of a particular minority, and the anger at a perceived loss of position in the social hierarchy, as a way to move White voters to the polls.
Thank you to Darhil, for the original commission! 

Crossing the line with Village Voice

If you pick up your city's free weekly paper this next week (if it's part of Village Voice Media) you'll see the cover story that's running nationwide. "Crossing the Line" is a series of articles/columns on the state of affairs we find ourselves in nowadays in the good ol' USA. From "papers please" laws, to new laws attempting to keep as many people of color as possible from voting. I was asked to illustrate a few of these essays:

  
"Welcome Back, Jim Crow." This essay discusses the attempts in states across the U.S. to keep people from voting. From purging voters, to ending Sunday voting, to requiring various forms of identification to vote, politicians nationwide are finding different ways to make voting harder. Completely by coincidence, the people most affected by these laws are minorities.

"Days of Rage." This essay lists the many ways that Mexicans/Chicanos and Latinos have been targeted in the last few years, and the inevitable Civil Rights-like action that's bound to follow. When I was given the assignment, we didn't have the story, and were under the impression that the column would make more of a connection between the Civil Rights Era demonstrations of the past, and the need to do the same today.

"Love the Beans, Hate the Beaner." Gustavo Arellano's hilariously tongue-in-cheek essay on the United States' historic attempts to repress Mexican culture by purging Mexican cuisine. Long story short, the attempts failed. Americans surrendered to Mexicans, according to Gustavo, when they surrendered to their food.

This was an awesome project to work on, and I was honored to contribute. As the son of a once illegal immigrant, these articles are a welcome wake up call- not only to people concerned about their own family members, but also those concerned about basic civil rights for other human beings. Thanks so much, Tom!