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Clipping of a 1988 political cartoon from the Dallas Times Herald

Object Number: 1996.006.1034

Category: Newspapers & Magazines

Publication: Dallas Times Herald

Collector: Phil Willis

Type of Object: Cartoon

Date: 11/29/1988

Credit Line: Phil Willis Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

Dimensions: 5 9/16 × 4 1/2 in. (14.2 × 11.4 cm)

Medium: Newsprint

Description

Clipping of a political cartoon from the Dallas Times Herald depicting (from left to right) the silhouettes of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dated Tuesday, November 29, 1988 along the top of the page, the figures are drawn as if they are standing with their backs to the viewer. In square text boxes above each man, their words are as follows:

President Kennedy: "Do you think Oswald acted alone?"
Senator Kennedy: "About as much as I think Sirhan was acting alone."
Dr. King: "Or James Earl Ray."

The cartoonist's signature (illegible) and copyright information, "(c) The Los Angeles Times 1988", are printed in the lower right corner of the cartoon.

This image is not available online larger than a thumbnail to protect the copyright of its creator(s). For a more detailed examination of this item, please schedule an appointment in the Museum’s Reading Room.

Curator's Notes

Included in the Museum's temporary exhibit, "Rebel Spirits: Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.," about how these two men, from wildly different backgrounds, were finding common ground in their activism for the poor, for civil rights and for ending the war in Vietnam, this item will be on display on the Museum's seventh floor from June 5, 2018 to September 3, 2018. - Lindsey Richardson, Curator of Collections

Published the week of the 25th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, this cartoon illustrates a common cynical attitude toward political assassinations that had developed in America since the 1960s. This cynicism contrasts with the attitudes of people who experienced the assassinations as current events in the 1960s, when the horrors were too fresh to inspire such a jaded point of view. - Lindsey Richardson, Curator of Collections