Educator, artist, essayist, and civil rights activist, Brumsic Brandon, Jr. gained his greatest acclaim for his six decades of cartooning. After selling gag cartoons to magazines for two decades, in 1963 Brandon self-published SOME OF MY BEST FRIENDS – a soft-cover book of 22 social commentary cartoons. Self-distributed, it made rounds and gained recognition, most notably from Langston Hughes. Brandon was a regular contributor of social commentary cartoon features to Freedomways: A Quarterly Review of the Freedom Movement from 1963 to 1985, and Black Media (also known as Black Resources) from 1974 to 1999.

Brandon’s comic strip LUTHER, featuring a cast of inner city children, made its debut in 1968 and ran nationally from 1970 to 1986. There have been six published collections of LUTHER (all of which are currently out of print), including LUTHER’S GOT CLASS, which has an introductory “Love Note” written by Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm.

Brumsic Brandon, Jr. is the father of Barbara Brandon-Croft (1958–) who he mentored in the art of cartooning. From a young age, she assisted Brandon on LUTHER, and was eventually asked to develop her own strip. Brandon-Croft’s feature, WHERE I’M COMING FROM, appeared in newspapers across the country for 14 years, a vivid voice of both genuine friendship, musings, and reflections of race and class in America. When the strip went national in 1991, Brandon-Croft was the first black female cartoonist published in the desegregated American mainstream press.

From 1992-2002, Brumsic Brandon, Jr. was a columnist and political cartoonist for Florida Today. His cartoons were often acknowledged in Pelican Publishing’s Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year. From 1996 to 2003, the recognition was shared by father and daughter. Their work is in the collection of The Library of Congress, a rare example of a father and daughter working in the same field on a national level.

Medialia Gallery and The Brumsic Brandon, Jr. Art Trust, chaired by Barbara Brandon-Croft, have collaborated on two exhibits, both curated by Tara Nakashima Donahue: “CULLUD” in 2016, and SOUL in 2017.

The proceeds of all sales will benefit the Brumsic Brandon, Jr. Art Trust & Medialia Gallery’s non-profit New Approach.