Keith Edgar Knight Jr. (born August 24, 1966) is an American

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

and musician known for his accessible yet subversive

comic strips A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...

'' The K Chronicles'', ''(Th)ink'', and ''The Knight Life''. While his work is humorous and universal in appeal, he also often deals with political, social, and racial issues. ''

Woke ''Woke'' ( ) is an adjective derived from African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) meaning "alert to racial prejudice and Racial discrimination, discrimination". Beginning in the 2010s, it came to encompass a broader awareness of social ineq ...

'', a television series based on his work, debuted in 2020.

Biography and personal life

Knight was born in

Malden, Massachusetts Malden is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 66,263 people. History Malden, a hilly woodland area north of the Mystic River, was settled by Puritans in 1640 on la ...

, and raised in the Boston area. Previously a resident of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, in 2007 he moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He is now based in the

Research Triangle The Research Triangle, or simply The Triangle, are both common nicknames for a metropolitan area in the Piedmont region of North Carolina in the United States, anchored by the cities of Raleigh and Durham and the town of Chapel Hill, home to ...

area of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. He is married to German-born illustrator Kerstin Konietzka-Knight, and they have two children; they appear as characters in ''The K Chronicles'' and ''The Knight Life.'' (The timeline of ''The Knight Life'' is about two years behind ''The K Chronicles.'') Knight often pokes gentle fun at his wife's mangling of English idioms. Their first son is not referred to by name, but is sometimes referred to as "The Unbearable Cuteness of Being."

Career

Knight's regular feature '' The K Chronicles'', launched in the early 1990s, appears in various outlets, including

Daily Kos Daily Kos ( ) is a group blog and internet forum focused on the U.S. Democratic Party and liberal American politics. The site includes glossaries and other content. It is sometimes considered an example of "netroots" activism. Daily Kos was f ...

, and previously appeared in the ''

San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst, and flagship of the Hearst Corporat ...

'', while ''(th)ink'' is published on several newspapers and websites, especially African-American sites. A syndicated daily strip, ''The Knight Life'', was launched in 2008. Knight is also the artist for two strips appearing in '' Mad'': ''Father O'Flannity's Hot Tub Confessions'' and ''Bully Baby''. In the March 14, 2012, strip of ''The K Chronicles'', Knight announced he was working on a graphic novel about his brief (1984–1985) career as a professional

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

impersonator An impersonator is someone who imitates or copies the behavior or actions of another. There are many reasons for impersonating someone: *Entertainment: An entertainer impersonates a celebrity, generally for entertainment, and makes fun of ...

. The book will be entitled ''I Was a Teenage Michael Jackson Impersonator''. Knight also appeared in The Marginal Prophets, a hip-hop band. Knight has become a

public speaker Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...

, with comic strip

slideshows A slide show (slideshow) is a presentation of a series of still images ( slides) on a projection screen or electronic display device, typically in a prearranged sequence. The changes may be automatic and at regular intervals or they may be manua ...

addressing racial illiteracy,

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

and the role it has played since the early years of the United States. In November 2018 it was announced that

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

would be producing a half-hour

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

, titled ''

'', based on ''The K Chronicles'' and events from Knight's life. The show is co-written by Knight; actor

Lamorne Morris Lamorne Morris (born August 14, 1983) is an American actor, comedian and television personality. He is known for roles such as Winston Bishop in the Fox sitcom ''New Girl'' (2011-2018), Darrin Morris in the National Geographic docudrama ''Vall ...

plays Knight. ''Woke'' debuted on September 9, 2020. On November 17, 2020, Hulu renewed the series for a second season.

Awards

In 2007, ''The K Chronicles'' won the

Harvey Kurtzman Award The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be the successor to the Kirby Awards that were ...

for Best Syndicated Comic Strip. The other nominees were ''Antiques: The Comic Strip'', ''

Doonesbury ''Doonesbury'' is a comic strip by American cartoonist Garry Trudeau that chronicles the adventures and lives of an array of characters of various ages, professions, and backgrounds, from the President of the United States The president ...

'', ''

Maakies ''Maakies'' is a comic strip by Tony Millionaire. It began publication in February 1994 in the ''New York Press''. It has previously run in many American alternative newsweeklies including '' The Stranger'', '' LA Weekly'' and ''Only''. It has ...

'', and '' Mutts''. ''The K Chronicles'' has won the

Glyph Awards The Glyph Comics Awards is for the best comics made by people of color from the last calendar year. The goal is to award the People of Color for their awesome work in the comics industry and also to inspire young writers from diverse backgrounds ...

Best Comic Strip multiple times, including 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010. In 2010, Knight was presented with an

Inkpot Award The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at CCI's annual c ...

for career achievement at the

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...

. * 2015

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

History Maker Award * 2015 Belle Foundation grant recipient"belle grantees help us see the world differently,"
Belle Foundation website. Retrieved Jan. 14, 2021.

Bibliography

*''Dances with Sheep'' (1997,

Manic D Press Manic D Press is an American literary press based in San Francisco, California publishing fiction (novels and short stories), poetry, cultural studies, art, narrative-oriented comix, children's books, and alternative travel trade paperbacks. It was ...

). *''Fear of a Black Marker'' (2000, Manic D Press). *''What a Long Strange Strip It's Been'' (2002,

Top Shelf Productions Top Shelf Productions is an American publishing company founded in 1997, originally owned and operated by Chris Staros and Brett Warnock and a small staff. Now an imprint of IDW Publishing, Top Shelf is based in Marietta, Georgia. Top Shelf pub ...

). *''Red, White, Black & Blue: a (th)ink anthology'' (2004, Manic D Press). * *''Are We Feeling Safer Yet? A (th)ink Anthology'' (2007, Top Shelf Productions). *''The Complete K Chronicles'', a compilation of the first four ''K Chronicles'' books (2008,

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...

). *''Beginner's Guide to Community-Based Arts'' (2005,

New Village Press New Village Press is a not-for-profit book publisher founded in 2005 in the San Francisco Bay Area now based in New York, New York. It began as a national publishing project of Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR), an ...

). *''I Left my Arse in San Francisco'' (2008, Keith Knight Press) *''Too Small To Fail: A (th)ink Anthology'' (2009, Keith Knight Press) * ''The Knight Life: "Chivalry Ain't Dead"'' (2010,

Grand Central Publishing Grand Central Publishing is a book publishing imprint of Hachette Book Group, originally established in 1970 as Warner Books when Warner Communications acquired the Paperback Library. When Time Warner sold their book publishing business to Hachett ...

). * ''The Incredible Cuteness of Being'' (2012, Keith Knight Press). * ''25 Steps to a Better

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

Campaign'' (2013, Keith Knight Press) * ''Knight Takes Queen: The 2nd Knight Life Collection'' (2015, Keith Knight Press). * ''They Shoot Black People, Don't They?'' (2015, Keith Knight Press) * ''Go East, Young Fam!'' (2016, Keith Knight Press). * ''Make America Hate Again: A (th)ink Anthology'' (2016, Keith Knight Press) * ''Jake the Fake Keeps It Real'' (2017 Crown Books) * ''Tribespotting: Undercover Cult(ure) Stories'', by Harmon Leon, cartoonist, (2019, 39 West Press).

Discography (with Marginal Prophets)

*''Twist the Nob'' (1997) *''dead hippie bootleg : the Marginal Prophets live!!'' (2002) *''Bohemian Rap CD'' (2004)

Filmography

*'' Revengeance'', voice actor (2017) *''Drawn Together,'' featured subject (2017) * ''

'', co-creator (2020–2021)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Keith 1966 births African-American comics creators American comics creators American cartoonists Living people People from Malden, Massachusetts Salem State University alumni 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people