Bill Sanders
Encyclopedia
William Willard "Bill" Sanders (born October 14, 1930) is an American
political cartoonist and author known for his cartoons and commentary on civil liberties
and civil rights
.
where he spent his early childhood. His parents moved to Pompano Beach, Florida
, where he was an All-State basketball player for Pompano Beach High School
and played quarterback for the football team. He attended Western Kentucky University
on a football scholarship and established a single season NCAA passing record, completing 66.7% of his passes in 1953. At WKU, he met and married Joyce Wallace. They have four daughters, Cathy, Vicky, Cheryl and Denese.
in Korea
as a mortar
platoon
leader and, later, as the commanding officer of the Pacific Stars and Stripes Army Unit in Seoul
(1955–1957). He took his separation from the Army in Japan
and worked as a Department of the Army civilian reporter-artist for Pacific Stars and Stripes in Tokyo
(1957–1958). During this same period, he freelanced political cartoons to The Japan Times
. Returning to the U.S., he was hired by the Greensboro Daily News as a political cartoonist (1959–1963). He then moved to the Kansas City Star (1963–1967), where he was nationally syndicated. The Milwaukee Journal hired Sanders in 1967, and he worked there until his retirement in 1991. He moved to Ft. Myers, Florida, where he draws and writes for his blog, Sanders Cartoon-Commentary.
because one of the episodes involved the general and a Korean prostitute.
Shortly after he started work for The Kansas City Star, the Letters Editor said that Sanders had “caused more letters in a month then we've had in the last five years.” In an interview with Holiday
magazine,Star columnist Bill Vaughn said readers would suddenly “call us up in the middle of the night, denouncing us as compsymps, nigger lovers and pree-verts.”
The John Birch Society
mounted an unsuccessful campaign to cancel 10,000 Star subscriptions. The controversy drew national media attention. Editor & Publisher magazine published a two-page feature under the headline, “Cartoonist Suffers Fringe Harassment.” Saturday Review, in an article titled “When Extremists Attack the Press” said Sanders’ “editorial commentaries can make the opposition gag on its breakfast.” Sanders added to the controversy surrounding him when he sued a local Catholic Church for disturbing the peace with its early morning bell ringing.
When Sanders moved to The Milwaukee Journal, he came into conflict with Milwaukee Mayor Henry Maier over Milwaukee's lack of an open housing ordinance. The Mayor said the Journal Company “has indulged again in the abuse of a bully boy personal attack by their cartoonist.” After being called “Colonel” by the mayor, Sanders attended a press conference dressed as a Kentucky Colonel
carrying a chicken bucket containing his sketchpad. WITI-TV editorialized that this conflict “is doing serious disservice to the people.” Sanders was suspended for two weeks after his drawing of a local judge as a pregnant girl scout
appeared in Kaleidoscope
, a Milwaukee alternative newspaper. After the 1984 election campaigns, Wisconsin Governor Lee Dreyfus criticized The Milwaukee Journal for its political cartoonist “who plays the hillbilly kid while living in Elm Grove.”
His cartoons critical of the way Milwaukee police officers
seemed to fade into anonymity after disputed arrest tactics resulted in the editor of the police newsletter coming into to the Journal contact editor
’s office calling Sanders “ a dirty, filthy man,” and demanding to know why the Journal kept “pigs” on the paper. In a feature article on Sanders, Newsweek
described him as the “Milwaukee Journal’s ornery and unorthodox house cartoonist,” whose “stinging bite rivals that of Herblock.”
In addition to national syndication, his cartoons were frequently reprinted in Time
, Newsweek, The New York Times
, The London Observer and Izvestia
. He contributed animated political cartoons to The Morning News
on CBS-TV, 1975. He covered the Vietnam War
as a reporter-artist just prior to the Tet Offensive.
Fellowship to study technology in a democratic society at Georgia Tech (1979). He has been inducted into the Milwaukee Press Club
Hall of Fame and the Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame at Western Kentucky University
. His cartoon originals have been collected and hung in the White House by Presidents John F. Kennedy
, Lyndon Johnson.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
political cartoonist and author known for his cartoons and commentary on civil liberties
Civil liberties
Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labour, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right...
and civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
.
Early life, education and family
Sanders was born on October 14, 1930, in Springfield, TennesseeSpringfield, Tennessee
Springfield is a city in Robertson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 14,329 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Robertson County.-Geography:Springfield is located at ....
where he spent his early childhood. His parents moved to Pompano Beach, Florida
Pompano Beach, Florida
Pompano Beach ) is a city in Broward County, Florida, along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean just to the north of Fort Lauderdale. The nearby Hillsboro Inlet forms part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 99,845...
, where he was an All-State basketball player for Pompano Beach High School
Pompano Beach High School
Pompano Beach High School is a full magnet high school located in Pompano Beach, Florida, which instructs grades 9 through 12...
and played quarterback for the football team. He attended Western Kentucky University
Western Kentucky University
Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA. It was formally founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier....
on a football scholarship and established a single season NCAA passing record, completing 66.7% of his passes in 1953. At WKU, he met and married Joyce Wallace. They have four daughters, Cathy, Vicky, Cheryl and Denese.
Career
Sanders served in the U.S. ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
as a mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
platoon
Platoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the...
leader and, later, as the commanding officer of the Pacific Stars and Stripes Army Unit in Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
(1955–1957). He took his separation from the Army in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and worked as a Department of the Army civilian reporter-artist for Pacific Stars and Stripes in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
(1957–1958). During this same period, he freelanced political cartoons to The Japan Times
The Japan Times
The Japan Times is an English language newspaper published in Japan. Unlike its competitors, the Daily Yomiuri and the International Herald Tribune/Asahi Shimbun, it is not affiliated with a Japanese language media organization...
. Returning to the U.S., he was hired by the Greensboro Daily News as a political cartoonist (1959–1963). He then moved to the Kansas City Star (1963–1967), where he was nationally syndicated. The Milwaukee Journal hired Sanders in 1967, and he worked there until his retirement in 1991. He moved to Ft. Myers, Florida, where he draws and writes for his blog, Sanders Cartoon-Commentary.
Controversy and attacks
Sanders career has been marked by controversy. His first published cartoon after college was a comic strip for the 8th Army base newspaper in Seoul, which was terminated by the commanding generalGeneral
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
because one of the episodes involved the general and a Korean prostitute.
Shortly after he started work for The Kansas City Star, the Letters Editor said that Sanders had “caused more letters in a month then we've had in the last five years.” In an interview with Holiday
Holiday (magazine)
Holiday was an American travel magazine published from 1946 to 1977. Originally published by the Curtis Publishing Company, Holidays circulation grew to over one million subscribers at its height....
magazine,Star columnist Bill Vaughn said readers would suddenly “call us up in the middle of the night, denouncing us as compsymps, nigger lovers and pree-verts.”
The John Birch Society
John Birch Society
The John Birch Society is an American political advocacy group that supports anti-communism, limited government, a Constitutional Republic and personal freedom. It has been described as radical right-wing....
mounted an unsuccessful campaign to cancel 10,000 Star subscriptions. The controversy drew national media attention. Editor & Publisher magazine published a two-page feature under the headline, “Cartoonist Suffers Fringe Harassment.” Saturday Review, in an article titled “When Extremists Attack the Press” said Sanders’ “editorial commentaries can make the opposition gag on its breakfast.” Sanders added to the controversy surrounding him when he sued a local Catholic Church for disturbing the peace with its early morning bell ringing.
When Sanders moved to The Milwaukee Journal, he came into conflict with Milwaukee Mayor Henry Maier over Milwaukee's lack of an open housing ordinance. The Mayor said the Journal Company “has indulged again in the abuse of a bully boy personal attack by their cartoonist.” After being called “Colonel” by the mayor, Sanders attended a press conference dressed as a Kentucky Colonel
Kentucky colonel
Kentucky colonel is the highest title of honor bestowed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Commissions for Kentucky colonels are given by the Governor and the Secretary of State to individuals in recognition of noteworthy accomplishments and outstanding service to a community, state or the nation...
carrying a chicken bucket containing his sketchpad. WITI-TV editorialized that this conflict “is doing serious disservice to the people.” Sanders was suspended for two weeks after his drawing of a local judge as a pregnant girl scout
Girl Scouts of the USA
The Girl Scouts of the United States of America is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. It describes itself as "the world's preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls". It was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912 and was organized after Low...
appeared in Kaleidoscope
Kaleidoscope (newspaper)
Kaleidoscope was an underground newspaper, founded by John Kois, radio disk jockey Bob Reitman, and John Sahli , which was published in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from Oct. 6, 1967 to Nov. 11, 1971, printing 105 biweekly issues in all...
, a Milwaukee alternative newspaper. After the 1984 election campaigns, Wisconsin Governor Lee Dreyfus criticized The Milwaukee Journal for its political cartoonist “who plays the hillbilly kid while living in Elm Grove.”
His cartoons critical of the way Milwaukee police officers
Milwaukee Police Department
The Milwaukee Police Department is the police department that protects the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The department has a contingent of about 2,000 sworn officers when at full strength. Edward Flynn is the current chief of police.-History:...
seemed to fade into anonymity after disputed arrest tactics resulted in the editor of the police newsletter coming into to the Journal contact editor
Ombudsman
An ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...
’s office calling Sanders “ a dirty, filthy man,” and demanding to know why the Journal kept “pigs” on the paper. In a feature article on Sanders, Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
described him as the “Milwaukee Journal’s ornery and unorthodox house cartoonist,” whose “stinging bite rivals that of Herblock.”
In addition to national syndication, his cartoons were frequently reprinted in Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, Newsweek, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, The London Observer and Izvestia
Izvestia
Izvestia is a long-running high-circulation daily newspaper in Russia. The word "izvestiya" in Russian means "delivered messages", derived from the verb izveshchat . In the context of newspapers it is usually translated as "news" or "reports".-Origin:The newspaper began as the News of the...
. He contributed animated political cartoons to The Morning News
The Morning News
The Morning News may refer to:* ITV Morning News, in the United Kingdom* Morning News , in Canada* The Morning News * The Morning News * The Morning News...
on CBS-TV, 1975. He covered the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
as a reporter-artist just prior to the Tet Offensive.
Honors
He received the Kansas City Civil Liberties Achievement Award (1963), the International Solon of Cartoon Award (1975), the National Headliners Award (1977), the United Nations Population Institute Award for the best cartoon on women’s rights (1975), the Wisconsin Civil Liberties Award (1979) and the National Endowment for the HumanitiesNational Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency of the United States established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The NEH is located at...
Fellowship to study technology in a democratic society at Georgia Tech (1979). He has been inducted into the Milwaukee Press Club
Milwaukee Press Club
The Milwaukee Press Club, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is the oldest continuously operating press club in North America. The club comprises journalists and others in the media in the Milwaukee area, as well as journalism educators, public relations and marketing professionals, students, and members of...
Hall of Fame and the Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame at Western Kentucky University
Western Kentucky University
Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA. It was formally founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier....
. His cartoon originals have been collected and hung in the White House by Presidents John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, Lyndon Johnson.