RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) On this second day of Black History Month, an editorial cartoon published on WRAL.com, owned by Capitol Broadcasting, had Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson so upset he called a news conference. Depicting the first Black lieutenant governor as Ku Klux Klansman. It s something we cannot stand for, folks. It s something I m not going to stand for, Robinson said. What I want to know from WRAL is that who you are? Is that who you want to represent yourself to be in this state?
The cartoon by Dennis Draughon stems from the state board of education s upcoming meeting regarding K-12 social studies curriculum.
North Carolina’s first Black lieutenant governor held a press conference on Tuesday to express outrage over a political cartoon that linked him and other members of the State Board of Education to the Ku Klux Klan for their opposition to allowing teachers to speak about systemic racism in the United States.
The lieutenant governor, Mark Robinson, is a Republican and a member of the board. He said it was wrong for the media outlet, WRAL.com, to post the cartoon.
“On the second day of Black History Month, the first Black lieutenant governor of North Carolina has been portrayed as [racist],” he said. “That you would portray a Black man, just because he’s in the GOP, as a Klansman … the hypocrisy is mind-numbing, folks.”
By Dominick Mastrangelo - 02/03/21 12:40 PM EST
North Carolina s first Black lieutenant governor held a press conference on Tuesday to express outrage over a political cartoon that linked him and other members of the State Board of Education to the Ku Klux Klan for their opposition to allowing teachers to speak about systemic racism in the United States.
The lieutenant governor, Mark Robinson, is a Republican and a member of the board. He said it was wrong for the media outlet, WRAL.com, to post the cartoon.
“On the second day of Black History Month, the first Black lieutenant governor of North Carolina has been portrayed as [racist],” he said. “That you would portray a Black man, just because he’s in the GOP, as a Klansman . the hypocrisy is mind-numbing, folks.”
North Carolina lieutenant governor blasts local news outlet for cartoon depicting Republicans as KKK members Print this article
North Carolina’s lieutenant governor is taking issue with a cartoon posted by a local news channel depicting Republicans as members of the Ku Klux Klan.
“It’s something we cannot stand for, folks,” Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, a Republican and the first black lieutenant governor in the history of the Tar Heel state, said in a press conference Tuesday.
“On the second day of Black History Month, the first black lieutenant governor of North Carolina has been portrayed as [racist],” Robinson added. “That you would portray a black man, just because he’s in the GOP, as a Klansman .. the hypocrisy is mind-numbing, folks.”
Posted December 30, 2020 5:00 a.m. EST
EDITOR S NOTE: This column is by Seth Effron, opinion editor for Capitol Broadcasting Company. He s reported on North Carolina government and politics since 1985.
To the degree that Republican Sen. Phil Berger has emerged as a very influential and powerful public officeholder in North Carolina, he has Democrat Marc Basnight who died Monday, to thank. Basnight the largely self-educated rural legislator with the high-tider accent reshaped the North Carolina Senate at the end of the 20th century by transforming the largely ceremonial office of Senate President Pro Tempore into a power center that he held for 16 years.