Oliver Wendell Jones: Scientist, Hacker, Genius

A character that I think defies racial stereotypes is Oliver Wendell Jones, a character from the comic Bloom County by Berkley Breathed. It was very popular in the 80s but Breathed is now publishing new strips with the same characters. Oliver is an African American boy who is, within the comic, the genius character who is into chemistry and computers rather than what could be considered typical of a young black child. His parents, however, feel he needs to have a more “normal” hobby.  His father wants him to give up computers and play football while his mother would have loved it if he had emulated Michael Jackson. Oliver just ignores them.

Instead he spends his time inventing things, hacking into the New York Times computers or into the IRS computer system in order to get his parents a massive refund or working for the defense department on a missile defense system.

Oliver's character resembles Pierre Delacroix in Bamboozled. He was a Harvard educated TV executive who produced shows with black characters which did not conform to stereotypes. His boss, like Oliver’s parents wanting him to conform to racial expectations, wanted Pierre to produce a show which he felt was a more realistic representation of black culture. Also, both Pierre and Oliver spoke in a smart manner as oppose to stereotypical trendy lingo.