Khalil Bendib
Encyclopedia
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
n fine artist and political cartoonist
Editorial cartoonist
An editorial cartoonist, also known as a political cartoonist, is an artist who draws editorial cartoons that contain some level of political or social commentary....
. Born during the Algerian revolution, Bendib spent 3 years in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
before returning to Algeria aged 6. After receiving his Bachelor's degree in Algiers, he left Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
at the age of 20. He currently resides in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
.
Bendib became a professional political cartoonist and sculptor/ceramicist after earning his Master's Degree at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
in 1982.
In 1995, Bendib resigned a position he had held for eight years working for Gannett Newspapers
Gannett Company
Gannett Company, Inc. is a publicly-traded media holding company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States, near McLean. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. Its assets include the national newspaper USA Today and the weekly USA Weekend...
(based at the San Bernardino County Sun
San Bernardino County Sun
The San Bernardino Sun is a newspaper in San Bernardino County, along with a heavy penetration into neighboring Riverside County. The SB Sun serves most of the Inland Empire in Southern California...
) because he believed his work was being unnecessarily censored.
Largely utilizing the internet, Bendib now distributes his political cartoons
Editorial cartoon
An editorial cartoon, also known as a political cartoon, is an illustration containing a commentary that usually relates to current events or personalities....
independently to alternative media outlets outside of the corporate mainstream media. By August 2007, when his first book, Mission Accomplished: Wicked Cartoons by America's Most Wanted Political Cartoonist, was published, Bendib's cartoons had appeared in more than 1,700 small and mid-sized newspapers.
In addition to his work as a cartoonist, Bendib also co-hosts a weekly one-hour radio program called Voices of the Middle East and North Africa on Pacifica Radio
Pacifica Radio
Pacifica Radio is the oldest public radio network in the United States. It is a group of five independently operated, non-commercial, listener-supported radio stations that is known for its progressive/liberal political orientation. It is also a program service supplying over 100 affiliated...
station KPFA
KPFA
KPFA is a listener-funded progressive talk radio and music radio station located in Berkeley, California, broadcasting to the San Francisco Bay Area. KPFA airs public news, public affairs, talk, and music programming. The station signed on-the-air April 15 1949, as the first Pacifica Station...
(94.1 FM), in Berkeley, California.http://www.kpfa.org/voicesofthemiddleeast
In 2008 Bendib ran a spoof campaign for President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, claiming to be the first Muslim-American candidate.http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/09/10/EDSES1H2N.DTL However, Randall A. Venson, an actual candidate preceded him in 2000.http://politics1.com/indep2k.htm