Political cartoon about Halifax mayoral race draws ire for using image of monkey

An editorial cartoon lampooning the large number of people running in Halifax's mayoral election is facing criticism for using the image of a monkey to illustrate a candidate.

The cartoon, by longtime freelance cartoonist Michael de Adder, depicts a bald white man and a monkey sitting next to each other on a sofa. 

The man wears a T-shirt with the word "everybody" on the chest, while the animal wears a similar T-shirt with the words "his monkey." 

A newspaper on the floor bears the headline "16 People Running for Mayor," while a speech bubble above the monkey's head reads, "Hey — I'm also running for mayor of Halifax." 

On Tuesday, mayoral candidate Darryl Johnson, who is Black, shared the cartoon on Facebook, and wrote that he was "frustrated, disgusted and discouraged that this level of racism is still prevalent in Halifax."

The drawing was first published in The Chronicle Herald and on Saltwire's website last Thursday.

In an interview with CBC News, Johnson said a friend forwarded him the cartoon and he quickly made a connection between the monkey in the image and the fact that he is the only Black candidate in the race.

"I thought, right away, that was me," said Johnson. "I was appalled because I'm all too familiar with the level of racism here in the city, including Nova Scotia. I grew up here and I've had several incidents throughout my childhood right on through adulthood, so that immediately impacted me." 

Lennett J Anderson, a senior pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Upper Hammonds Plains, and an eighth-generation African Nova Scotian, also found the cartoon problematic. 

In a Facebook post, Anderson pointed out how animal imagery has been used to "demean and dehumanize" people throughout history. 

"Such depictions can carry offensive connotations and evoke painful stereotypes, even if the intent isn't explicitly racist," Anderson wrote.

Never intent to cause harm, says cartoonist

On Wednesday, de Adder said he drew the cartoon without considering how it may be received by the Black community and without knowing that there was a Black candidate in the race. 

He said the monkey depicted was never meant to be representative of any candidate, and that it was never his intent to cause any harm to Johnson.

He said he only used the expression "everyone and his monkey" because it's one he often heard while growing up. 

Johnson, however, said he's never heard of that expression, and that de Adder should have done his research about who the candidates were and known better than to use an ape in the image.

"Intentional or unintentional, biased or non-biased, the simple fact is ... people in my community know that historically there's been correlations between Blacks and primates, monkeys or apes, so right away that was offensive." 

De Adder has since commented publicly on Johnson's initial Facebook post, explaining if he had known there was a Black candidate running, he would have considered using a different expression like "everybody and his dog."

He said he understands the "connotations of drawing a monkey" in relation to the Black community.

"I can see how you interpreted this drawing as something unfavourable. I promise this was not my intention … Good luck in the race. I hope this cartoon hasn't affected your desire and drive to run," he wrote. 

But he initially defended the cartoon, writing in a since-deleted post that, "I think this cartoon is clear and I will not apologize. I will not take it back. I stand by this cartoon 100 per cent … Anybody who thinks this cartoon is about one candidate is just wrong. Period."

He said this was a mistake and that he'd been overly defensive when the cartoon was initially criticized.

"I thought I need to fix this, and rather than get my back up and say, 'The cartoon isn't about what you think it's about,' it's better to apologize, because I don't want anybody to misinterpret my work and I don't want anybody to be hurt by my work." 

Johnson said he's seen both de Adder's initial post and his followup, and that he does not accept his apology, noting that it wasn't public like the cartoon, and that it still felt like the cartoonist was "deflecting and putting it back on me." 

"I wrote back and said I don't accept," he said.

He remains open to talking directly to de Adder, but at this point, said he'd like to get back to focusing on his campaign.

"If Michael reaches out to me by phone and we have a discussion, man to man, I'm willing to let this be bygone and put it behind me," he said. 

"I've got things to focus on and I don't want to focus on this any longer."