Brumsic Brandon Jr. (April 10, 1927 – November 28, 2014)Brumsic Brandon a.k.a. Brumsic B. Brandon
at the

Social Security Death Index The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) was a database of death records created from the United States Social Security Administration's Death Master File until 2014. Since 2014, public access to the updated Death Master File has been via the Limit ...

via FamilySearch.org. Retrieved on June 20, 2015
Archived
from the original on June 20, 2015. was an

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

cartoonist whose 1969-1986 '' Luther'' was one of the earliest mainstream

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

s to feature an African American in the lead role.

Early life and career

Brandon Jr. was born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, on April 10, 1927, the second of five children born to Brumsic Brandon Sr., a

Washington Union Station Washington Union Station, known locally as Union Station, is a major train station, transportation hub, and leisure destination in Washington, D.C. Designed by Daniel Burnham and opened in 1907, it is Amtrak's second-busiest station and North ...

porter, and Pearl Brooks Brandon. He attended school in the segregated Armstrong public school district. While still a teen, with his art ambitions supported by family and a high school art teacher, Brandon began submitting

comic-strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

ideas to newspapers. After studying art at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, he was drafted into the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

. Following two years of service in post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

occupied Germany, where he reached the rank of sergeant, he returned to New York City and drew comics after his workdays in various jobs. His employers included

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

and Bray Studios, where he worked as an

animator An animator is an artist who creates images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video games. Animat ...

. He published his first cartoon in 1945, and drew

editorial cartoons A political cartoon, also known as an editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically co ...

as well as caricatures, some of which were collected in the 1966 book ''Damned If We Do, and Damned If We Don't'', published by the

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

chapter of the

Civil Rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

organization

CORE Core or cores may refer to: Science and technology * Core (anatomy), everything except the appendages * Core (laboratory), a highly specialized shared research resource * Core (manufacturing), used in casting and molding * Core (optical fiber ...

and the

Santa Clara Valley The Santa Clara Valley (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Valle de Santa Clara'') is a geologic trough in Northern California that extends south–southeast from San Francisco to Hollister, California, Hollister. The longitudinal valley is bordered ...

Friends of SNCC.

''Luther'' and television

He then conceived of '' Luther'', a

about inner-city

children, imbued with a gently satirical theme about the struggle for racial equality. Brumsic Brandon Jr.
at the

Lambiek Comiclopedia Galerie Lambiek is a Dutch comic book store and art gallery in Amsterdam, founded on November 8, 1968 by Kees Kousemaker (, – Bussum, ). His son Boris Kousemaker has been the owner since 2007. From 1968 to 2015, it was located in the Ke ...

Archived
from the original on May 1, 2014. He named his title character, a third-grader, after Civil Rights activist the Rev. Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

In 1968, the

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

newspaper ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'' began syndicating ''Luther'' through its own small syndicate, Newsday Specials, in conjunction with Reporters' News Syndicate, an initiative designed to increase minority participation in journalism. In 1970, following the purchase of ''Newsday'' by

Times Mirror The Times Mirror Company was an American newspaper and print media publisher from 1884 until 2000. History It had its roots in the Mirror Printing and Binding House, a commercial printing company founded in 1873, and the ''Los Angeles Times'' ...

, the strip became syndicated widely through the corporation's

Los Angeles Times Syndicate The ''Los Angeles Times'' Syndicate was a print syndication service that operated from 1949 to 2000. Owned by the Times Mirror Company, it also operated the ''Los Angeles Times'' Syndicate International; together the two divisions sold more than ...

. In the early 1970s, Brandon appeared as himself, a.k.a. Mr. B.B., drawing and giving simple art lessons on the locally produced,

WPIX-TV WPIX (channel 11) is a television station in New York City, serving as the ''de facto'' flagship of The CW Television Network. Owned by Mission Broadcasting, the station is operated by CW majority owner Nexstar Media Group under a local marketi ...

children's television Children's television series (or children's television shows) are Television show, television programs designed specifically for Child, children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are ...

program ''

Joya's Fun School ''Joya's Fun School'' is a children's television series that was produced and broadcast by WPIX-TV in New York City, hosted by Joya Sherrill. After an early iteration with a different title ran in 1970, the series aired weekly from January 3, 197 ...

'' in New York City. Following the June 1986 discontinuation of ''Luther'' upon Brandon's retirement, Brandon contributed political cartoons and

op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...

pieces to the

Brevard County, Florida Brevard County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. It is on the Atlantic coast of eastern Central Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 606,612, making it the 10th-most populated county in Florida. The official county s ...

, newspaper ''

Florida Today ''Florida Today'' is the major daily newspaper serving Brevard County, Florida. Al Neuharth of the Gannett corporation started the paper in 1966, and some of the things he did with this newspaper presaged what he would later do at ''USA Toda ...

''.

Personal life

In 1959, Brandon moved with his family to

New Cassel, New York New Cassel is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 14,199 at the time of the 2020 census. History New Cassel was one of th ...

, a Long Island hamlet adjacent to

Westbury, New York Westbury is a Village (New York), village in the town of North Hempstead, New York, North Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, in New York (state), New York, United Stat ...

. Afterward, they lived in the

Pocono Mountains The Pocono Mountains, commonly referred to as the Poconos (), are a geographical, geological, and cultural region in Northeastern Pennsylvania. They overlook the Delaware River and Delaware Water Gap to the east, Lake Wallenpaupack to the nort ...

area before finally settling in Florida for more than 25 years. He was married to his wife Rita for 64 years at the time of his death. The couple had three children: Barbara Brandon, a.k.a.

Barbara Brandon-Croft Barbara Brandon-Croft (born November 27, 1958) is an American cartoonist, best known for creating the comic strip ''Where I'm Coming From'', and for being the first nationally syndicated African-American female cartoonist. Early life Brandon-Cro ...

, who would become the first nationally syndicated female African-American cartoonist, Linda, and a son, Brumsic Brandon III. The family was unsure of the origin of the name Brumsic, with unconfirmed family lore speculating it might be derived from "Brunswick". He died in

Cocoa Beach, Florida Cocoa Beach is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The population was 11,354 at the 2020 United States census, up from 11,231 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Palm Bay, Florida, Palm Bay–Melbourne, Florida, Melbourne–T ...

, of complications from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

. He had four siblings: Grievance, who predeceased him, Yvonne, Waliakbar Muhammad, and Ivan.

Bibliography

''Luther'' collections: *''Luther from Inner City'' (Independent Publishers Group, 1969; ; ) *''Luther Tells It as It Is!'' (Paul S. Eriksson, 1970; ; ) *''Right on, Luther!'' (Paul S, Eriksson, 1971; ; ) *''Luther Raps'' (Paul S, Eriksson, 1971; ; ) *''Outta Sight Luther'' (Paul S. Eriksson, 1972; ; ) *''Luther's Got Class'' (Paul S. Eriksson, 1976; ; )

Exhibitions

* 2020 ''"Still... Racism in America: A Retrospective in Cartoons"'' (Medialia Gallery, New York City) — posthumous joint exhibition with Brandon's daughter

* 2022 ''"Still... Racism in America: A Retrospective in Cartoons"'' (Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, Columbus, OH) — joint exhibition with Brandon-Croft and her father Brumsic Brandon Jr. * 2024 ''"Still... Racism in America: A Retrospective in Cartoons"'' (University of California-Davis Design Museum, Davis, CA) — joint exhibition with Brandon-Croft and her father Brumsic Brandon Jr.Exhibition web page
University of California-Davis website. Retrieved Apr. 2, 2024.

References

External links

* Abstract only.
The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Art Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brandon, Brumsic Jr. 1927 births 2014 deaths Animators from Washington, D.C. African-American comics writers African-American comics artists American political artists African Americans in New York City American comics artists American comic strip cartoonists American caricaturists American humorists American satirists American satirical comics artists American satirical comics writers American editorial cartoonists African-American editorial cartoonists Artists from Washington, D.C. People from Cocoa Beach, Florida 20th-century African-American artists 21st-century African-American artists