Noted historian and frequent Scoop contributor Prof. William H. Foster III offers some thought-provoking insights into the role of Ebony White in Will Eisner’s The Spirit.

If you are a fan of Will Eisner’s The Spirit, you have to be aware of his long-time sidekick-partner Ebony White as well.

Since his first appearance back in 1940s, there has been an on again-off again controversy surrounding his appearance and his relationship with The Spirit. And it goes a little bit like this:

Is Ebony a physically ridiculous comic relief character created to make fun of African Americans, or a genuine attempt at racial inclusion and dignity? Was his creation merely to be a farcical “Man-Friday,” or as a full fledged partner of one of the comic medium’s most enduring detectives?

Whatever opinion you have, there can be no denying that young Mr. White has changed dramatically over his 60+ year history.  Even though he was noticeably and deliberately missing from the overly promoted (and sparsely attended) Spirit live action movie in 2007, he still has a very visible presence in the recent Spirit comic book published by DC.

Will Eisner is quoted as having said he created Ebony White as “really an attempt to introduce a Negro boy in a meaningful role. He had a dignity all his own.” In personal conversation before his untimely passing, Eisner shared that on any given day, opinions about young Ebony could be a crap shoot. He could be lauded one day and condemned the next.

While I caution anyone from measuring things from the past with a yardstick from the present, allow me to recommend that we all take a long measured long at where we’ve come from, and gauge from that where we want to go. Take a look at some of these images, an Ebony White time line if you will, and see what you think.

The controversy continues.