Our series of posts marking the passing of CARTOONISTS RIGHTS’ founder Robert “Bro” Russell continues. Here we will gather tributes from colleagues who worked with him in our organization as well as collaborators and counterparts from across our sector.
From its earliest days our organization has enjoyed a productive relationship with the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC), often bringing clients to their annual conventions, especially those to be recognized with our Courage in Cartooning Award. In turn, the AAEC paid special tribute to Russell in 2012. Their president at the time was John Cole, who said:
“[He] has been tireless in his efforts to put the spotlight wherever needed, when free expression through cartooning runs afoul of government oppression.”
Julie Trébault is the Executive Director of ARC – Artists at Risk Connection (USA/France). We have maintained a position on their advisory board since ARC began their work.
“I have such fond memories of Bro, one of the very first people I met when I began putting ARC together, and I will always remember how extraordinarily generous he was with his time, insights, and expertise. At a moment when so much of what we were trying to build was still taking shape, his experience and his willingness to share it so openly meant so much to me. Over the years, I continued to have enormous admiration for his commitment to protecting cartoonists and defending artistic freedom. He was a wonderful colleague and a truly generous person, and he will be deeply missed.”
For many years we have been a member of IFEX (Canada). The federation’s Executive Director Rachael Kay knew Russell well, and as did her predecessor Annie Game.
“We at the IFEX Secretariat and Network are deeply saddened to hear about Bro’s passing. He was a champion for freedom of expression and cartoonists everywhere. From the first time we met his passion and commitment to the work was evident in everything he did. From the founding of CARTOONISTS RIGHTS to seeing it through a leadership transition and continuing to contribute his time and expertise whenever he was called on… he was an fierce advocate for the issues throughout his time with the organisation. This is great loss to the community, especially at a time when people like him seem to be fewer but more of what we need.”
Sara Whyatt is a highly respected artistic freedom exert from the UK, currently Research Director at Freemuse (Norway).
“I first met Bro at a meeting in New York in 2015, although I had known of his work long before through my time at PEN International. I remember his to-the-point comments and the space he gave for cartoonists to speak for themselves. He brought to the fore the importance of cartoonists in revealing uncomfortable truths through a medium – cartoons – that is widely understood, and therefore all the more cutting and dangerous to tyrants. In founding CARTOONISTS RIGHTS Bro gave cartoonists recognition as human rights defenders. He will be much missed, as the organization carries on his important work.”
Tjeerd Royaards, founder and editor-in-chief of the Cartoon Movement (Netherlands) was an advisor to Bro over the years.
“So sad to learn Robert Russell has passed away. He was one of the most passionate fighters for cartoonists I have ever met.”
John Curtis (South Africa) is the founder/director of Africartoons.
“I first met Bro (online) when they sponsored Africartoons’ convention of unconventional cartoonists in Cape Town. Little did I know that this would eventually lead to my serving on the board of directors of CARTOONISTS RIGHTS. Bro was an activist and a visionary, but above all, a wonderful human being. He will be remembered in work done by [his organization], and by the cartoonists protected throughout the world.”
Sabir Nazar is convenor of the Pakistan Union of Cartoonists.
“Very sad indeed. He was truly a champion of cartoonists’ rights. I met him quite a few times and he was always ready for new initiatives and approaches.”
Marlene Pohle (Argentina) is Vice-President of FECO.
“Very sad to hear this news. It’s not so far away that John Lent passed and now Bro Russell, two big defenders of free expression and of cartooning all over the world.”
For several years Patricia Bargh (UK) ran our external comms and especially the very busy Twitter account we once maintained. When the platform was as its best, it often served as the first point of contact for cartoonists and hence Patricia vetted and referred many clients to Bro.
“I first started working with Bro in 2013, at the time of the Arab Spring and all that followed. I remember reading conflicting reports of the situation relating to the tragic case of Akram Raslan, a Syrian cartoonist, who had been arrested and imprisoned by President Assad. Bro and CARTOONISTS RIGHTS were trying to make sense of the situation, and to try and assist in making the world know of his plight. On seeing that the task itself was proving impossible due to the conflicting reports and the small number of staff who were doing all they could, I volunteered to help, and then did so for the next five years.
For me Bro was one of those rare people you meet in life who have a vision; follow that vision and actually end up making a difference. There are many cartoonists today who would not be where they are, or in some cases have their freedom, or even their lives, if it not for the work of Bro and those who work for, and support his organization – often quietly so, behind the scenes, and never fully acknowledged.
After I had left the organization, an unexpected package arrived in the post. He had sent me a ‘Courage in Cartooning Certificate’, one of those normally passed on to the threatened cartoonists we had been representing. It was a wonderful surprise, and brought a smile, and I thought summed up Bro, the man himself, and his life. And just now having taken it off the wall to read it again, I can see that yes, it does, even more poignantly so. I will end with these words – his words – which portray him more perfectly and succinctly than anything more I could say.
‘… our deepest and most affectionate thanks for years of dedicated service, never failing to keep the safety and security of our cartoonist clients uppermost in your heart. You have helped change the world.‘
Thank you, Bro, for those precious years. May you rest in peace, and honor, and forever in the light that in life you tried to shine for so many others.”
Robert Russell’s successor, Terry Anderson, is also based in the UK and has written a personal piece for the Professional Cartoonists’ Organisation (PCO) of which he is a member, and who have frequently collaborated with us.
“For many […] his passing means the loss of the man who literally saved their lives, and that’s exceptionally hard to take. To me he was a sweet, funny, excessively indulgent mentor, a man I had too little time with before geography, illness, and the various madnesses of the 2010s and ’20s intervened. The organization renamed our Courage in Cartooning Award in his honor when he stepped down in 2019 and going forward that will be only the most obvious way in which we keep his legacy intact and memory alive. The kindest, most generous thing he did was let me get on with things. And we’ll continue to do so.”
Further tributes may be sent to: [email protected]
