Black Mug Shots – Changing the Algorithm

Malden native Keith Knight has been a professional cartoonist for the last 30 years. With work ranging from syndicated comic strips and panels to kids’ books to a Hulu television show, “Woke,” the cartoonist’s career has been diverse, to say the least. But for the last month, his art has taken a truly unexpected turn.

His most recent work, called “Black Mug Shots,” is a website and social media hashtag that the cartoonist developed late last year which seeks to change the narrative around police mugshots and the Black community.

“I went to a local news agency to complain and I said, ‘I don’t want my kids, everytime they see someone that looks like them [it’s] in a mugshot,’” he said.

After some time, Knight decided to start the “Black Mug Shots” project. For the cartoonist, although this is not a typical cartoon, he considers this project as an extension of his work.

Boston.com carries the story of Keith’s efforts.

Those of us following Keith on Facebook or Twitter know of the project.

And it has made a difference. A Google search for “black mug shots” gets Keefer’s project as the first or second response (depending on the mugshots spelling). But it is still topped by police blotter images.

We can help Keith change the algorithm.