Judge — December 16, 1922 — page 14: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon depicts a lynching scene, with a hanged figure suspended from a bare tree branch while hooded figures (clearly members of the Ku Klux Klan, identifiable by their pointed hoods) stand below holding a cross. The title "Their Christmas Tree" uses bitter irony—treating a lynching as a grotesque holiday celebration. This is satirical commentary on Klan violence, presenting their murders as a macabre "festivity." Judge magazine, though satirical, used this image to condemn racial violence and the KKK's terrorism. The cartoon critiques the normalization of lynching in American society by framing it as a perverted "Christmas" observance, exposing the horrific brutality behind the Klan's actions. The date and specific context remain unclear from this page alone, but this reflects Judge's anti-racist editorial stance during periods of intense Klan activity.