Student cartoonist targeted by white supremacists in Mississippi

From Study International.

Cartoon by Jake Thrasher

A student cartoonist from the University of Mississippi has reportedly been issued death threats from white supremacists for his work that criticizes racism and the Ku Klux Klan.

The 21-year-old undergraduate Jake Thrasher, who draws for the Daily Mississippian student newspaper, has received a “deluge of highly threatening emails” from hate groups after drawing content that promotes liberal ideas and critiques the Confederate flag.

The Daily Mississippian publishes five times per week and is one of the largest student newspapers in the United States with a daily circulation of around 12,000 during semester-time in Oxford, Mississippi, where the university is located.

Thrasher told the Huffington Post that throughout a holiday month dedicated to a famous Confederate he did cartoons on “why I personally believe it shouldn’t be celebrated and it shouldn’t be a holiday.”

As a result, “I got threatened to get my ass beat, I got threatened to be lynched in the grove,” said the student, who studies biochemistry and art.

“We strongly advise that the Chancellor of the University provide protection and support to any students including cartoonist Jake Thrasher who may be receiving death threats from white supremacist organisations or individuals,” said a statement from the Cartoonists Rights.

“It’s been really stressful for me because I’m having to juggle my jobs, school and on top of it, now having to be concerned about my safety.”

“I’ve lived in the South my whole life,” said Thrasher. “Especially in college, I’ve tried my hardest to give back to the South and help make it a better place.”