New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang (D) is responding to the New York Daily News’ attempt to defend a cartoon he considers racist.
The cartoon published by the newspaper depicts Yang as a tourist leaving a Times Square subway station.
Cartoon pic.twitter.com/3s68j4EHct
— Bill Bramhall (@BillBramhall) May 24, 2021
Yang released a statement responding to the cartoon, saying, “To paint me in the media as a perpetual foreigner to this city is wrong and subtly approves racism at a time when people are being beaten on the street on the basis of who they are.”
He added, “Every time you say that I’m not a real New Yorker, you’re telling another Asian American that they don’t belong.”
My thoughts on the racist cartoon of me published by the Daily News. pic.twitter.com/Z9F9O2bNXP
— Andrew Yang🧢⬆️🇺🇸 (@AndrewYang) May 25, 2021
Editor Josh Greenman defended the cartoon, “Andrew Yang is a leading contender to be mayor of New York City, and as commentators, his opponents and The News Editorial Board have recently pointed out, he’s recently revealed there are major gaps in his knowledge of New York City politics and policy. Nor has he ever voted in a mayoral election.”
He added, “Bill Bramhall’s cartoon is a comment on that, period, end of story. This is not a racial stereotype or racist caricature.”
Yang commented on the newspaper’s response during an appearance on CNN’s “New Day.”
“Anyone objective looking at that cartoon knows that it’s playing on an idea of Asian Americans as permanent tourists and outsiders and we’re at a point in our history unfortunately when Asian Americans are getting beaten on the streets of New York and told to go back where we came from, that we don’t belong,” Yang said.
He continued, “So the Daily News characterizing it as simply a political commentary that does not include race just rings false.”
Watch his comments below:
NYC mayoral candidate @AndrewYang says a political cartoon published in a local newspaper is racist.
— CNN This Morning with Audie Cornish (@CNNThisMorning) May 27, 2021
“The Daily News characterizing it as simply a political commentary that does not include race just rings false,” Yang says. pic.twitter.com/MbiT8h7FL2
Yang argued the cartoon does not work if it is someone of “a different race.”
His wife, Evelyn Yang, also took to Twitter to respond to the cartoon.
I can’t believe my eyes. To publish this racist disfiguration of @AndrewYang as a tourist, in NYC where I was born, where Andrew has lived for 25 years, where our boys were born, where 16% of us are Asian and anti-Asian hate is up 900%. #StopAsianHate https://t.co/pJ7JqxCUec
— Evelyn Yang (@EvelynYang) May 24, 2021
“I can’t believe my eyes. To publish this racist disfiguration of [Andrew Yang] as a tourist, in NYC where I was born, where Andrew has lived for 25 years, where our boys were born, where 16% of us are Asian and anti-Asian hate is up 900%. [StopAsianHate],” Evelyn Yang wrote.
