I've been inspired by many artist,but one in particular artist has motivated me to take my work to new heights. Im talking about Aaron McGruder creator of the cartoon "The Boondocks". Aaron McGruder was born May 29th, 1974 in Chicago,Illinois. At the age of 6 his parents then moved the family to Columbia,Maryland. He attended a majority white Jesuit school that he felt repressed him. Eventually switching over to a predominantly black school in the late 80's and early 90's made him a fan of hip-hop. It was then that he would decide to challenge society from the "Angry black mans" point of view. He graduated from public high school at Oakland Mills and attended the University of Maryland. While studying for a degree in African American Studies he began his layout for "The Boondocks".
His first publishing came at the hands of his school newspaper, called "The Diamondback". Things would soon fall apart between McGruden and the newspaper, and McGruden decided to remove the strip. Still, McGruden pushed foward and started to gain the attention of newspapers despite his contraversial topics. The comic strip gained eye raising attention when it attacked The Bush administration, causing some papers to move it out of their columns. Despite this McGruder continued on, and began working on the animated version of "The Boondocks'.
McGruder himself started controversy after meeting Fidel Castro in Cuba after being invited to accompany California representative Barbara Lee on a trip. He offended attendees during a 2003 reception hosted by The Nation by defiantly recalling his support for Ralph Naders 2000 presidential bid, which many blame for George Bush's election. At the NAACP awards he called Condoleeza Rice a mass murderer to her face.
McGruden resides in Los Angeles California, his projects include The Boondocks animated series, The Super deluxe variety series and The rumble mix show. He is the author of 5 book collections and is a frequent public speaker on political and cultural issues. He still continues his work to this day and just signed a contract to make The Boondocks a full length movie.
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