Your Future Rests In Your Hands

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Your Future Rest In Your Hand by Larry Lieber 1964

Your Future Rests...In Your Hands is a comic book written by Larry Lieber and published by NAACP back in 1964.[1] Illustrates characters discussing racial inequality in housing and education in African American communities; Steve Baxter of NAACP(National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)[2] Voter Registration Committee advocates for African Americans to take the vote more seriously as well as how to register to vote.

This comic was printed the year that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed. The act prohibits race discrimination in voter registration as well as segregating schools from white to colored people.

Plot

The story that expands upon wider aspects of African-American life. These included discrimination in housing and employment, as well as difficulties in educational. The comic touche on then-recent changes in voting and discrimination laws. The comic also reassures voters on the death of the poll tax. However, the comic mentions literacy tests and tests to “interpret the Constitution.” Black voters of the time were likely to face such when trying to vote.

First story is about a colored man applying for a job in a company. Although the man is qualified for the job and he rushing to go to the office even before opened he didn't get a job, the manager said the vacancy is already been filled and no more opening. The man upset and asking is it because he is negro but the manager dispute. Then the man asks how many negro working here but again the manager didn't answer and said good bye. The man didn't got the job.

The second story is a about a colored family who's searching for housing. The estate agent said the neighborhood is for white people but he will help. But then the estate agent raise the price almost double only in one week, I guess that is the price for having a colored skin in white neighborhood. The estate agent asking far above the standard price because he thinks the colored man can't afford the house so it will prevent them from entering white neighborhood and stays in the ghetto.

The third story issue is about education, where colored people educational is segregated from white people. In the comic portrayed that the schools for colored kids are overcrowded and have poor facilities, while schools for white kids are not overcrowded and have newest facilities. The boy in the comic wishing if he can get that kind of decent school then his friend answer "My dad says that just the way things are, and they'll never change".

The rest of the comic is talking about vote and how it will changes the situations for colored people. Then came Steve Baxter voter registration committee from NAACP to the colored neighborhood, he assured the people that situations can be changed by their hands not others -by using their votes. Baxter successfully influenced the community to registered themselves as voters. The campaign day comes, major candidates approach the colored community in different ways. One of the candidate named Cooper promised in the campaign that he will make changes in civil rights and discriminations against colored people. The colored community said they are going to give Cooper the opportunity. While the other major candidate doesn't really care about colored community and said "The negros are a poor, uninfluential minority! We don't need their supports".

Good things start to happen, Cooper wins and he keeps his promises. Cooper proposing new laws outlawing all discriminations in housing, employment, public accommodations, also re-zoning the schools. Then all the changes starts, colored people can get a job based on their qualifications, family can get housing, and better schools.

The comics both resemble then-contemporary early Silver Age comics and newspaper comic strips in terms of the art and writing styles, albeit with African-American characters. Black characters were usually personas non grata in “mainstream” comics of this era.[3]

External Link

Read the full comic at gilderlehrman.org

References

  1. Lieber, Larry, 1931-; Your Future Rests ... In Your Hands. The Gilder Lehrman. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  2. NAACP. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  3. Anthony. Minorities in cartoons: The NAACP and comics. Diverse Tech Geek. 29 November 2012. Retrieved January 14, 2021.