Source: Rhino Times Greensboro

Remove Images An Apology by John Hammer June 30, 2011 Dear Reader, On behalf of The Rhinoceros Times, I apologize for the offensive political cartoon in the June 23 edition of The Rhinoceros Times. The cartoon appears to be two black male prisoners using poor grammar talking about being in jail. The males are supposed to be two white men. The color that was used for these cartoon characters is the exact same shade that this paper used for Guilford County Manager Brenda Jones Fox in the May 19 edition, but as it appears the cartoon is offensive. We regret the error and offer sincere apologies to everyone who is offended by the cartoon. We are also offended by the cartoon. As it appears in the newspaper it is racially insensitive and promotes a negative racial stereotype we find offensive. Both the cartoonist and the graphic artist who colored the cartoon were shocked at how it appeared in the newspaper. Geof Brooks, our cartoonist, said he was sick when he opened the paper and saw his cartoon. He said he drew the characters as New York mobsters. Although we cannot do anything about the papers that have been printed, we removed the colorized cartoon from the website and replaced it with the original pen and ink drawing, which we find acceptable. We have also included the original pen and ink version of the cartoon here so that our readers can see for themselves what our intent was. John Hammer Editor-in-Chief The Rhinoceros Times