Ebony White

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Ebony White is a fictional character from the comics series The Spirit, created by Will Eisner. He is a Black sidekick to Denny Colt, the title character. His age is ambiguous: sometimes he appears to be a young boy, at other times he is clearly an adult who drives a taxi. He frequently helps the Spirit out of tough situations.

The appearance and characterisation of White (especially early in the series) is probably the most common criticism of the generally acclaimed strip. The character is cited as one of many examples of racist stereotypes in mainstream 20th century United States culture. His name is a racial pun, and his facial features - including large white eyes and thick pinkish lips - are typical of racial blackface caricatures popular throughout the "Jim Crow" era. As a loyal assistant to the white hero, he has been compared to the Uncle Tom stereotype. Eisner received some critical letters regarding the character.

On the other hand, the character is also sometimes cited as breaking new ground, as a likable recurring character at a time when black characters of any kind were uncommon in comics. The character also developed as the series progressed, becoming less like the cowardly and dim-witted stereotype. Eisner reported receiving letters of both praise and criticism for the character at the time. In a 1966 New York Herald Tribune feature by his former office manager-turned-journalist, Marilyn Mercer claimed, "Ebony never drew criticism from Negro groups (in fact, Eisner was commended by some for using him), perhaps because, although his speech pattern was early Minstrel Show, he himself derived from another literary tradition: he was a combination of Tom Sawyer and Penrod, with a touch of Horatio Alger hero, and color didn't really come into it".^[1]

Eisner later expressed mixed feelings about his portrayal of Ebony White. He acknowledged that he was conscious at the time that he was using a racial stereotype and was unapologetic about it, but defended doing so by stating that "at the time humor consisted in our society of bad English and physical difference in identity." In reference to his graphic novel Fagin the Jew, Eisner acknowledged parallels between Charles Dickens' use of racial stereotyping for that character (which Eisner criticized) and Eisner's own portrayal of White, but asserted that his own work had not "capitalized on" the stereotype.

Contents 1 Other media 2 2007 Revival 3 Footnotes 4 References

[edit] Other media

In the Spirit television movie, Ebony was included but the producers attempted to avoid obvious racial stereotypes. For instance, Ebony was depicted as a clever street entrepreneur who attempts to act as a voice of common sense to the Spirit's idealism.

[edit] 2007 Revival

In the 2007 revival of the Spirit comics series, now produced by DC Comics, White is portrayed as a street kid, driving a taxi obviously not his. In an early appearance, the script alludes critically to his historic racial portrayal, with a character asking if he "will be standing on the Spirit's lawn with a lantern". He is portrayed as putting his street experience and his daring attitude to work at the Spirit's service. His origins now tangled with Colt's ones, he was the cabbie who brought Colt to the place in which apparently he met his demise. Knowing of his death, a guilt-stricken Ebony acknowledged that his previous prejudices on Denny, for him only an amateurish detective unable to dirt his hands, were harsh, and that he could have helped him more. Denny Colt then, who had already awakaned from his apparent death state, asked White for help. The young boy gladly accepted, keeping himself always on the call for his new friend.

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] References

• Time interview with Eisner
• Comic Book Artist interview with Eisner
• Alter Ego #48 (May 2005), pp. 7-25: Will Eisner interview