City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 2-2018 “For Us, By Us": The Boondocks, Black Agency, and Black Spatial Reclamation in Comics Luana Horry The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2508 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact:
[email protected] “FOR US, BY US:” THE BOONDOCKS, BLACK AGENCY, AND BLACK SPATIAL RECLAMATION IN COMICS by LUANA HORRY A master’s thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Liberal Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, The City University of New York 2018 © 2018 LUANA HORRY All Rights Reserved ii “For Us, By Us:” The Boondocks, Black Agency, and Black Spatial Reclamation in Comics by Luana Horry This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Liberal Studies in satisfaction of the thesis requirement for the degree of Master of Arts. ____________________________________ ____________________________________ Date Jonathan W. Gray Thesis Advisor ____________________________________ ____________________________________ Date Elizabeth Macaulay-Lewis Executive Officer THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii ABSTRACT “For Us, By Us:” The Boondocks, Black Agency, and Black Spatial Reclamation in Comics by Luana Horry Advisor: Dr. Jonathan W. Gray This paper will construct a literary analysis of The Boondocks comic collections— syndicated from 1999-2006—that will demonstrate Aaron McGruder’s use of the theoretical concept of Black agency, as it relates to literature, birthed from the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and the contemporary #WeNeedDiverseBooks movement.