Robert ‘Bro’ Russell – RIP
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Dr. Robert ‘Bro’ Russell, founder of Cartoonists Rights and a tireless defender of political cartoonists facing persecution around the world passed away on Sunday in Virginia. He was 84 years old.
1942-2026
“Bro” to colleagues and friends, graduated with a degree is in fine arts, but spent his life committed to human rights starting with the Peace Corps in the 1960s. He spent more than two decades in Africa, India, and Sri Lanka consulting in institutional development and humanitarian assistance. In his own words he says that toward the end of his career he “decided that I would spend the rest of my life helping political cartoonists who were in trouble because of their cartoons. I didn’t do it because I’m a cartoonist, or out of some sense of humanity, but the very practical reason that they are the most cost-effective and powerful social change agents in any culture!”
In 1999 he established the nonprofit Cartoonists Rights Network International, later incorporated as Cartoonists Rights, the first human rights organization to focus on protecting political cartoonists. From 1999 to 2019, Russell served as the executive director building the organization into an international lifeline for cartoonists who found themselves persecuted, imprisoned, or censored. Cartoonists Rights offered legal representation, financial assistance, and emotional and moral support.
For the first 20 years, Cartoonists Rights bestowed the “International Award for Courage in Editorial Cartooning” to an artist who lived in “great danger or has demonstrated exceptional courage in the exercise of free speech rights.” The award was renamed to the Robert Russell Courage in Cartooning Award to “keep his legacy intact and memory alive.”
Two recipients of the Courage in Editorial Cartooning award posted their thoughts on Russell’s passing.
Malaysia cartoonist Zunar posted on Instagram:
I have lost a true defender, a global champion for cartoonists rights, and a member of my family. I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Dr. Robert “Bro” Russell, the visionary founder of Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI).
Iranian-American cartoonist and current Cartoonists Rights Vice-President Nik Ahang Kowsar, writes:
Yesterday, we lost someone who played an important role in saving many cartoonists from persecution, misery, and even death. Robert Russell, founder of Cartoonists Rights Network International, passed away at the age of 84 after years of illness and the hardships it brought.
I first heard his voice 26 years ago, on the day I returned home from Evin Prison. I spoke with him for the last time only a few weeks ago, before my trip to Stockholm.…
Traveling with him, or simply being in his company at conventions and meetings, was a gift. I treasured every moment we spent together. Over the years, his eyesight grew weaker and his legs less steady. Yet, for as long as he was able, he continued traveling to meet cartoonists and listen to their voices and their pain. He spoke with diplomats and lawmakers in the House and Senate, searching for ways to help artists who had become targets of their governments’ wrath.
Terry Anderson, who took over Russell’s position as executive director writes a remembrance on Professional Cartoonists’ Organisation website:
As the years advanced and the time to end his fieldwork approached, and having come to appreciate the special contribution cartoonists make to nascent democracies as well as the problems they can encounter under repressive regimes, Bro decided to establish a relief network and spend his semi-retirement helping cartoonists in trouble. After some years of research and experimentation, at the tail-end of 1999 he incorporated Cartoonists Rights Network International in the state of Virginia where he made his home.
Two more decades later, I would sit at his kitchen table in Burke with his remarkable wife Malie, the same spot where a great many other cartoonists had sought counsel or received comfort, and Bro would ask me to take over his work. He had done enough, too much in fact.
Others will speak of the bravery and resolve they witnessed when the going got tough, the long letters or phone calls they received when they needed support, or the tongue-lashings doled out when someone had provoked his ire.
Russell is survived by his wife, Hemamalie, his son, Robby, and extended family. Funeral services have not been announced. Cartoonists Rights is inviting friends, colleagues to share memories or images of Russell by sending them to director@cartoonistsrights.org.
Russell profile picture above by Nikahang Kowsar.
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