Dozens of fans of Aaron McGruder and the "Boondocks" receive their tickets for the annual Visionary Lecture Series at the Tempe Center for the Arts on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014. The lecture featured talks on race and democracy. (Photo by Jonathan Williams)As the sunset reflected off salt river outside the Tempe Center for the Arts, dozens gathered to hear Aaron McGruder speak about race and democracy for the annual Visionary Lecture Series.
McGruder walked on stage and the crowd erupted after two short videos of some of his work. What followed were discussions of his beginnings as a comic strip writer, the creation of "The Boondocks” and his departure from the show.
"I think we live in an era where we can't have heroes we used to have," McGruder said.
After McGruder spoke, he answered audience-submitted questions about race, democracy and his new hit show “Black Jesus."
In response to one question, McGruder said he has always been reserved.
“I decided when I actually became famous, I am a very private person,” McGruder said. “I’m very reclusive.”
As the lecture came to a close, McGruder had a message for young writers and artists.
“Those YouTube stars turn down TV deals because they don’t pay as much, that’s the reality,” McGruder said. “When you see a random thing with 20 million views, there’s no excuse.”
Computer systems engineering freshman Joe Logan said he has not watched “The Boondocks,” but McGruder’s reputation brought him to the event.
“I heard he was a very interesting and funny guy,” Logan said. “I wanted to hear what he had to say.”
Supply chain management freshman Apollonnia Akabay said when she saw the creator of the show, which she has watched part of, was part of the Visionary Series she was excited to attend the lecture.
“‘The Boondocks’ touches on many racial issues,” Akabay said. “So I wanted to see what was going through his head when he wrote it.”
As the lecture began, the lights fell on the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd as Matthew C. Whitaker made his way to the stage. At the podium, he opened with an introduction and thanked the people in attendance.
Whitaker is the founding director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy and history professor at the College of Letters and Sciences, said about a year of planning went into the lecture and everything ran according to plan.
Whitaker said McGruder was very interested when he contacted him about the possibility of booking McGruder for the event.
“Race often times makes people a little jumpy,” Whitaker said.
However, Whitaker said the event was definitely what they were looking for.
"Without a doubt, we got what we expected," Whitaker said.
Reach the reporter at jwilli62@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @JonWilliams_23
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