In 'I Was Their American Dream,' It's Culture, Not Color That Matters
Even as NPR editor Malaka Gharib makes light of herself in her high-spirited graphical memoir, her wisdom about the power and limits of racial identity is evident in the way she draws.
Drawing comics with characters of diverse races is a fraught task. From the earliest political cartoons up through last year's controversial depiction of Serena Williams by Australian artist Mark Knight, comics have a long history of exaggerating physical features in the service of racist stereotypes.
Even for the most well-meaning cartoonists, it's supremely difficult to make race visible without reinscribing such stereotypes. How can you use comics' visual shorthand to indicate that someone is African-American or Asian
