Aaron McGruder facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Aaron McGruder
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McGruder in 2002
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| Born | Aaron Vincent McGruder May 29, 1974 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
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| Education | University of Maryland (B.A.) |
| Genre | Comic strips, television screenwriter |
| Notable works | The Boondocks (comic strip) The Boondocks (TV series) |
Aaron Vincent McGruder, born on May 29, 1974, is an American writer, cartoonist, and producer. He is best known for creating The Boondocks, which began as a comic strip and later became a popular animated TV series.
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Early Life and Education
Aaron McGruder was born in Chicago, Illinois. When he was six years old, his family moved to Columbia, Maryland. This move happened because his father got a job with the National Transportation Safety Board. Aaron also has an older brother.
McGruder attended a school called Loyola Blakefield for grades seven through nine. After two years, he transferred to Oakland Mills High School, a public school. He later went to the University of Maryland. There, he earned a degree in African American Studies.
Aaron McGruder's Career
Creating The Boondocks
The Boondocks first appeared in 1996 as a webcomic on a music website called Hitlist.com. At that time, McGruder was also a DJ for a radio show. The comic strip then briefly appeared in the University of Maryland's newspaper, The Diamondback.
In April 1999, McGruder signed a deal with Universal Press Syndicate. This meant his comic strip started appearing in 160 newspapers across the country.
The main characters of The Boondocks are two young African-American brothers, Huey and Riley. They move from inner-city Chicago to live with their grandfather in a quiet suburb. Huey is named after a famous civil rights leader, and Riley is a younger brother who acts like a "gangsta." Within six months, the comic strip was in over 200 publications. Several collections of The Boondocks comic strips have been published as books.
An animated television series based on the comic strip became very successful. It was shown on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.
In 2013, McGruder showed interest in making a movie about a supporting character from The Boondocks TV series, Uncle Ruckus. He tried to raise money for this movie online, but the campaign did not reach its goal.
In March 2014, The Boondocks TV series returned for a new season. However, McGruder was not involved in making this season. The first episode of the fourth season aired on April 21, 2014. In 2019, it was announced that a fifth season of The Boondocks would be made with McGruder's help. However, this project was cancelled in February 2022.
Other Creative Projects
Aaron McGruder has worked on other projects too. He created a comedy series called The Super Rumble Mix Show for Super Deluxe. He also developed Black Jesus, another comedy series shown on Adult Swim.
McGruder has also become a public speaker, sharing his thoughts on political and cultural topics.
In 2004, McGruder co-wrote a graphic novel called Birth of a Nation: A Comic Novel with Reginald Hudlin. This book was about African Americans in East St. Louis during an election. The drawings for the book were done by cartoonist Kyle Baker.
In 2010, McGruder worked as a screenwriter for the movie Red Tails. This film was released in early 2012. Its story is based on the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African American combat pilots during World War II.
In August 2017, it was announced that McGruder and producer Will Packer would create a series for Amazon Video called Black America. This series explores an alternative history where freed Black Americans receive three Southern states as reparations for slavery and form their own independent nation. As of 2025, Amazon has not provided any further updates on this series.
Personal Life
By 2005, and as of 2013, Aaron McGruder was living in Los Angeles.
