By Viviane Faver
The act of racism that occurred in Central Park, New York, months ago, became a comic. The black man made the art himself who recorded a white woman calling the police against him in Central Park, Christian Cooper. It’s a Bird was published by DC Comics, the home of Batman and Superman.
With ten pages, the comic is the first in a series called “Represent!” which will publish works by writers “traditionally underrepresented in the comic book media”, including people of color and the LGBTQ community, said Marie Javins, DC executive editor, in a statement. The aim is to spread the daily humiliations of racism and deadly police brutality.
The story has the main character Jules, a black teenage bird watcher who suddenly sees through his binoculars the faces of black people killed by the police.
One day, Jules confronts a white woman in the park named Beth, walking her dog off the leash. When Jules faces her, he is supported by images of several blacks killed in interactions with the police. When he turns his back on her, he sees them winged and flying free.
Cooper told the New York Times that the comic book “should not be seen as a unique experience, because it is not. It is drawn from a lot of experiences and intertwined from that – mine and the ones we hear in the news.”
He added: “What happened to me is insignificant compared to the fatal consequences for George Floyd later that day, but it all comes from the same racial prejudice. I am not trying to combine these things. What I’m trying to say is: ‘See the pattern'”.
The Central Park incident prompted New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to pressure state legislators to pass a bill making it a hate crime to call 911 and make a false accusation based on race, sex, or religion. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a similar bill last week.
It’s a Bird is available online for free at several digital book stores and comic books.
