Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation

Content note: 1963 US newspaper cartoon on the Birmingham, Alabama bombings and riots during the civil rights campaign, shown as published. This object is shown as it was published. Why

A Flower Tries to Grow in Birmingham, 1963 US cartoon: A rose whose petals are labelled RACIAL ACCORD is about to be cut

A Flower Tries to Grow in Birmingham

A rose whose petals are labelled RACIAL ACCORD is about to be cut at the stem by a pair of scissors, held in a hand whose finger ring is labelled EXTREMISTS. The two blades are labelled BOMBS and RIOTS. The cartoon argues that violence by extremists endangers racial agreement; the technique is a virtue-word symbol, 'racial accord', set against named threats.

Propaganda techniques used in this cartoon

Glittering generalities
Date
May 14, 1963
Period
Cold War
Made by
Washington Evening Star (cartoonist Jim Berryman)
Region
North America
Country
United States
Medium
Cartoon
Issuer type
Media
Regime
Kennedy Administration
Leader
John F. Kennedy
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Persuade or win support
Theme
Race and ethnicity
Source
Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
Source
U.S. National Archives, Records of the U.S. Senate, Jim Berryman Political Cartoons (NAID 5730852), retrieved October 3, 2026
Rights
Public domain (U.S. government work)
Jim Berryman, Washington Evening Star. National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the U.S. Senate, 5743297 (NAID 5743297).

Text on the object

Original (English) · read from the image, not independently checked

RACIAL ACCORD
EXTREMISTS
BOMBS
RIOTS
JIM BERRYMAN WASHINGTON STAR

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