[timeline src=”https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dPoSEdjoqA1ADQjBDI761nMqyTBDxXdzqwWUwq5Pfqk/edit#gid=0″ width=”100%” height=”650″ font=”Default” lang=”en” version=”timeline3″ ]
My timeline serves as an informative and educational timeline of the life and major life accomplishments of Keith Knight. To begin, I start from the very beginning of Keith’s life. I go back to his hometown in Malden, Massachusetts to discuss his early life and early education. Thanks to an article written by the Neighborhood View, I was able to learn more about how the schools Keith attended growing up shaped him into the successful and accomplished cartoonist he is today. It is important to note that Keith got a lot of his creativity and inspiration from the programs he was a part of and the schools he went to as a child, tween, and teenager. He started his cartoon career on the younger side, practicing writing and drawing from middle school age on, and made cartoons for his high school.
I then go on to highlight his accomplishments that came about from the K Chronicles, Keith’s most popular cartoon strip. It has aired once a week since the 1990s and has won multiple awards. I felt it was incredibly important to spend a lot of time researching the K chronicles and all of its awards because of how much fame of Keith’s stemmed from it. I mention others of his popular comics in the introductory biography, but decided to only put an emphasis on K chronicles. I thought it was important to include the many awards Keith won for this strip because it proves how positively received the strip is. It’s been airing for decades now, and still is very popular. Another reason I solely chose to highlight the K Chronicles is because the show Woke was created based off of it. The show Woke features the character “Keef Knight” who is a black cartoonist who gets profiled by law enforcement. He is on the verge of success when an incident occurs. The show is based off of the comics written by Keith and Keith’s life. It shows the importance of his work in a politically complex environment.
Lastly, I focused on some moments that took place more recently in Keith Knight’s life. Being chosen to speak at your alma mater’s graduation ceremony is an honor that most people do not receive. I found it necessary to include this in my timeline to show the impact Keith has had in the world and his immediate community. Also, the messages and advice he gave to the graduates shows a good ode to his personality and what is important to him and what helped him be so successful. Lastly in my timeline I included the mural installation Keith made for the city of Malden. It shows how he gave back to his community and the overall importance it had in his life.
Some gaps in my research include more about the graphic designs and decisions Keith made throughout his career. This is something I never found much research on, but could have looked deeper into if I wanted to go another direction with my timeline. I decided to go into more of Keiths life and his accomplishments and awards to highlight his career. I hope my audience will gain an understanding and appreciation for the incredible career Keith Knight has had. I also want the audience to realize the impact he has had on his personal communities, the comics world, and the entire world as a whole.
Works Cited:
Annedr. “Cartoonist Keith Knight Reflects on Growing up in Malden, Education, Race and the Value of Art.” Neighborhood View, 22 Aug. 2023, neighborhoodview.org/2022/07/12/cartoonist-keith-knight-reflects-on-growing-up-in-malden-education-race-and-the-value-of-art/?fbclid=IwAR2sE3IUaxdSV81r2nsQ9K42apH7rZMhAOaDJMVi20tM5_lGDVV6FVupEg0.
Blair, Elizabeth. “In ‘woke,’ Cartoonist Keith Knight Drew from a Real-Life ‘Wake-up Call.’” NPR, NPR, 8 Sept. 2020, www.npr.org/2020/09/08/909707072/in-woke-cartoonist-keith-knight-drew-from-a-real-life-wake-up-call#:~:text=Woke%20is%20inspired%20by%20the,hop%20band%22%20the%20Marginal%20Prophets.
“Glyph Comics Awards.” East Coast Black Age Of Comics Convention, www.ecbacc.com/glyph-comics-awards.html. Accessed 18 Nov. 2023.
“Harvey Awards.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Sept. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Awards.
“Inkpot Awards – Comic-Con International.” Comic, 29 Sept. 2023, www.comic-con.org/awards/inkpot/#:~:text=Comic%2DCon%20International’s%20Inkpot%20Awards,year%20they%20received%20their%20award.
Keef. “The Official K Chronicles and (Th)Ink Website.” The Official K Chronicles and (Th)Ink Website | Humorous Comics, Often with Political Overtones. The Official K Chronicles and (Th)Ink Website by Cartoonist Keith Knight!, 30 June 2023, kchronicles.com/.
“Keith Knight (Cartoonist).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Sept. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Knight_(cartoonist).
“Keith Knight .” The Largest, Oldest, and Most Popular Online Bookstore Dedicated to Selling Books by or about People of African Descent ★, aalbc.com/authors/author.php?author_name=Keith%2BKnight#:~:text=Knight%27%20awards%20include%3A,career%20achievement%20at%20Comic%2DCon. Accessed 17 Sept. 2023.
Newgarden, Mark, and Paul Karasik. How to Read Nancy – Laffpix, www.laffpix.com/howtoreadnancy.pdf . Accessed 17 Sept. 2023.
“The Real-Life Inspiration for the TV Show ‘Woke.’” YouTube, YouTube, 22 Sept. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3U1VjOldJE.
“Uo Today Interview: Keith Knight, Cartoonist.” YouTube, YouTube, 20 Jan. 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_wn5pXQLBI.
“WOKE (TV Series).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Aug. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woke_(TV_series).
Writer, Dustin Luca | Staff. “Knight Becomes Double-Viking as SSU Graduates 1,882.” Salem News, 22 May 2022, www.salemnews.com/news/knight-becomes-double-viking-as-ssu-graduates-1-882/article_995d5658-d91f-11ec-ad53-8f92701b4877.html.