Judge — July 3, 1897 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This three-panel cartoon depicts a well-digging scene with racist caricature and dialect. Mr. Johnsing, apparently a white overseer, supervises Black workers digging a well. The humor relies on racist stereotypes: exaggerated features, eye-rolling expressions, and heavy dialect portraying Black workers as clumsy and incompetent. The "joke" centers on workers struggling with a large rock while Johnsing complains they're stepping on his heels, then celebrating when they finally dislodge it—the implication being the workers are incompetent and bothersome. This reflects late 19th-century Judge magazine's casual racism. The caricatures, dialect, and condescending tone toward Black laborers were typical of period satirical humor, though deeply offensive by modern standards. The cartoon mocks workers rather than critiquing actual labor exploitation or racial injustice.