School Desegregation – Object #4

The Walls Have Ears

Download political cartoon

<p>In pencil the title reads “The Walls Have Ears.” There is a large black wall running vertically down the center of the cartoon. On the left side is a group of parents arguing angrily in a living room with an armchair and curtained window. Two children, their backs to the reader, stand watching. The text reads “hot words in Little Rock School Crisis.” On the right of the wall is a large man leaning towards the wall. His face looks like a globe and he is wearing a suit. He has a worried expression on his face. The text reads “the whole wide world.”</p>

Political cartoon by Jon Kennedy depicting the world listening to the fight over school desegregation in Little Rock, 1957.

Questions:

What are the people in the left side of the cartoon doing?

What is the mood depicted in the cartoon? Why? What is going on during this time frame?

Why are children included in the photo? What do the children appear to be doing?

What is happening on the right side? Why might the world be watching?

What implications might result from the world watching?

What additional conclusions can you draw from this cartoon?

Citations

Jon Kennedy Cartoon Collection, (UALR.MS.0023), UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture.