Judge, 1922-08-19 · page 16 of 36
Judge — August 19, 1922 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical comic strip featuring racist stereotypes typical of early 20th-century American humor. It depicts a dialogue between two African American characters, "Mose" and "Sambo," attempting to sell a defective mule through increasingly absurd justifications. The humor relies on dialect humor and portrayal of African Americans as foolish or dishonest. The "joke" progresses through the mule being dead, then unable to run, then blind—with each objection met by Mose's creative reframing. The punchline (frame 8) suggests the mule simply doesn't care, using dehumanizing language. The strip frames this as a story told by actress Hope Hampton, lending celebrity endorsement to the material. This represents the casual racism embedded in mainstream American entertainment and magazines of this era, where such stereotypical portrayals were considered acceptable public humor.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
lope Hampton ¢edls how Mose The popular movie star, Miss Hampton, as she told the story: 3. “Ah see he ain't daid,” said Sambo. “But he kain’t run, an’ Ah done wants a mule as runs. 6. “Fo’ de Lord,” exclaimed Sam, “he ain't daid; he kin run, but he’s blind. Ah doan’ wan no blind mule.” 1. Mose was trying to sell Sambo a mule. The mule was lying on the floor of the barn. “I doan’ wan no daid mule,” said Sambo. 4. Mose, thus challenged, with a vigorous kick so energized the mule that away it went, running down the street with marvelous speed. 7. “What’s dat you say?” cried Mose. “You all calls a mule like dat blind? sold his mule 2. “He ain't daid,” said Mose; and with his whip he forced the mule to a standing posture. But Sambo remained cold on the proposition. ait * 5. But Sam’s delight at the ac- tivity of the mule was short-lived, for bang, the mule ran head on into a tree. 8. “Why, Lordy, Lordy, boy, dat mule ain’t blind. He jes doan’ give a whoop!” aN one or a ghost throug about. may r grant o Rogers conside “Bor as cithe momen at its v of purg tion, as This ai Virtues Tt ha presenti find an experim calls ah that hay see no 3 Doyle | Heaven, word of ening si No, to k and bea movies. UT t thea with an; may be think it Shaw, ar tion is di stunt isa Elmer R “On Tri: comicbooks.com