Huey Freeman

Huey Freeman is the main character of The Boondocks comic strip written by Aaron McGruder as well as the main character and principal narrator of the animated TV series of the same name. Politically sapient, and borderline militant, he regularly reflects on current events as well as the plight of African Americans, as it relates to greater American society. The character was named after Huey P. Newton, one of the founders of the Black Panther Party and is voiced by American actress Regina King in all episodes.

Huey, who grew up with his brother Riley (also voiced by King) on the south side of Chicago, was moved along with his brother to the peaceful, predominately white suburb of Woodcrest by their Granddad.

Personality

Huey is a very raucous, insolent, heedless, aggressive, violent, misbehaved, troublemaking, foul-mouthed, unfriendly, lethal young criminal who is always either going to juvenile, jail, or prison. Just like his brother Riley, Huey is strongly influenced by gangsta rap culture, and he uses poor grammar and tends to defend his idols even when common sense comes against righteousness. He is extreme in the thug life and is hopeful about joining groups of that nature and he hangs around big and famous gangsta rap stars especially Thugnificent and the Lethal Interjection.

Huey seems to have a fair amount of criminal aptitude, as is demonstrated when he helped coordinate the kidnapping of Oprah Winfrey, and further demonstrated by his criticisms of Ed Wuncler III and Gin Rummy for their lack of criminal know-how ("Let's Nab Oprah"). Despite his pretensions to the contrary, Huey is not stupid: he can in fact be very resourceful and pragmatic, and help Riley "beat" Tom, a district attorney, in an argument over R. Kelly's confinement and trial for him. Perhaps due to idolizing the gangsta rap lifestyle he seems to have a level of street smarts possibly as great as his brother, often able to manipulate situations through lying and reverse psychology, which he refers to as getting into someone's "mental mind".

Huey is quite brash and could often get into situations without considering first, also making him a trouble maker. He is also extremely rebellious and doesn't listen to anyone, especially Riley and Grandad. He is brutally honest to the point of being very harsh, strident, and rough-sounding.

Huey is very talented with his large collection of airsoft weapons he has, such as; pistols, shotguns, grenades, and AK-47's. He uses them more in Season 1 episodes than he does in Season 2 episodes. Huey's excessive interest in the "thug" lifestyle has made him into something of a misogynist. He claims that all women are "hoes", pointing to the custom that a man should pay for his girlfriend's dinner during a date - despite, as Huey points out, that men are actually paying the restaurant, not the woman — a contradiction that Riley and Huey does not recognize. He also tends to use "bitches" as a general term for women.

Huey is somewhat more cynical than Riley. In "The Story Of Catcher Freeman", he recognizes that the stories of his Granddad usually are made-up: this can mean that he is, like his brother, a realist. He can keep a cool head, even under pressure: when both he and his idol Thugnificent are under heavy gunfire.

Despite these less than admirable characteristics Huey is precociously clever, especially when required to think quickly or talk his way out of trouble. Usually he's able to get what he wants by manipulating people or disadvantageous events, like he did in "Let's Nab Oprah" - first with his Granddad, then when he saw Tom at the studios. He is also an extremely talented visual artist and had been using graffiti.

Huey praying in the finale of season one.

In the episode in which he asserts that Jesus was black, Huey also asserts that "the government is lying about 9/11" and that "Ronald Reagan was the devil."

Huey is shown to admire the gangsta rap lifestyle. In "The Return of the King," he and Riley are the only two who disrespects Martin Luther King after they are construed as a terrorist. As mentioned before, Huey is named after Huey P. Newton, the co-founder of the Black Panthers. He also has many posters and cds of Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, 50 cent, Tupac Shakur, and Lil Jon.

While Huey is always portrayed as being a left-wing radical, his specific political ideologies are never portrayed in detail. On several occasions, such as "The Block is Hot," he has demonstrated a following of Revolutionary Socialism. This is also backed up due to the fact that Huey has posters of revolutionary socialists in his room. A belief in Anarchism is also possible, as several of his statements have paid respect to it. In "Or Die Trying..." he teaches a theater ticket taker about Anarcho-Syndicalism and Marxism. However, a moderate belief in Black Nationalism is common, since a desire for a greater unity between the black people of America is a recurring theme. Huey has also quoted Karl Marx, suggesting an understanding of Communism. In "The Real" Huey claims to be the founder of 23 radical leftist organizations, including the Black Revolutionary Organization or B.R.O., Africans Fighting Racism and Oppression or A.F.R.O.,and the Black Revolutionary Underground Heroes, or B.R.U.H.

During which he learns to paint selflessly and for the benefit of the viewer instead of personal glory. He still, however, admits that he hopes his artistic talent lets him "get paid." One might say it's the heavy influence of mass media, particularly modern-day rap culture, that inhibits his intellectual potential.

Otherwise, being pessimistic, Huey is rarely seen smiling in the episodes. He is either in a neutral expression or is seen frowning or shrugging. In season one, Huey was seen smiling when he defeats his brother Riley and in "The Passion Of Reverend Ruckus" when he asks Jazmine to come with him to prison (though the smile is quickly replaced with anger toward Jazmine). In season two, he is seen smiling two times. Once was in episode "Home Alone" when Grandad comes back home after his "Doin' it big" trip to Costa Rica. The second is in episode "Ballin'" when Riley finally insults the opposing team's star player enough to make her cry. After scoring multiple baskets, Huey is seen smiling at his brother along with Granddad. Other than four instances, Huey has never been caught smiling. This isn't to say that Huey lacks a softer side, as he will take steps to help and protect those he considers friends or family (ex. Tom, Jazmine, Riley, etc.) Thus, Huey's characterization is McGruder's way of satirizing many youths today who have the potential to do so much but choose to waste it, and instead end up in trouble with the law or worse more than Riley.

His nicknames range from The Criminal Mastermind, H.R. Paper Stacks, Rich Rider, and American Gangster.

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Relationships

Riley Freeman

Huey's younger brother Riley is a foil to his character. Where Huey is cynical and tends to think in political ways, Riley is extreme in the thug life and hopeful about joining groups of that nature. Riley hangs around big and famous gangsta rap stars in hopes of one day becoming one himself.

Robert Freeman

Robert Freeman, Granddad, is Huey's paternal grandfather. Granddad often disagrees with many of Huey's political ideas. While in the comic strip, Huey and his grandfather have a much more affable relationship, in the cartoon they are almost constantly at odds, in part due to his constant favoritism shown to Riley, who supports his grandfather's various crazy schemes. Huey seems to offer Granddad advice in certain situations, such as during "Granddad's Fight", "The S-Word", and "The Story of Thugnificent".

Jazmine Dubois

Though Jazmine Dubois and Huey spend a great deal of time together, Huey often treats Jazmine poorly due to his disdain for her trusting personality and apolitical views. In the cartoon, the two appear to be closer, with Huey confiding to her about his desire to meet up with his former best-friend Cairo, during a planned trip to Chicago ("Wingmen") and Huey allowing her to help him in his plan to free an unjustly imprisoned inmate out of prison, essentially trusting her as an accomplice ("The Passion of the Ruckus"). He also shows visible concern for her on a few notable occasions (for instance, in the season one episode "The Block is Hot," he gives her a scarf to keep warm). It is also implied that she might have a slight crush on him, even though he shows no intention of liking her.

Tom Dubois

Tom, Jazmine's father, represents everything Huey doesn't believe in. Tom, being a strait-laced liberal democrat assistant district attorney, is part of the structure that Huey views as inhibitive and self-destructive. He also dislikes Tom due to trying to be more European. This is shown when Tom says that they tried everything to make Jazmine's hair straight. Huey offers up the idea of emphasizing the natural beauty of her African features, but Tom doesn't even hear this. Despite his disagreements with Tom, the two are shown generally to be on good terms with Tom often acknowledging Huey's intellect and maturity, to the extent that Tom will often turn to Huey for advice on subjects ranging from help with his marriage, politics, and his career as a prosecutor (with Huey supporting Tom's prosecution of R. Kelly for statutory rape).

Ed Wuncler, Sr.

Ed Wuncler serves as a villainous foil for Huey, as Ed Wuncler, Sr. represents everything Huey is against. In spite of this, Wuncler retains a friendly relationship with the Freeman family, despite Huey seeing through his friendly facade as far as the true person Wuncler is inside. Interestingly, Huey considers Wuncler's biases mainly based on his greediness and influence rather than actual racism.

Ed Wuncler III and Gin Rummy

Robert distrusts Ed and Gin, having seen the two young men perform many criminal and amoral actions and does not hesitate to point out the obvious stupidity behind their careless conduct. He also does not care for the way that they help contribute to Huey and Riley's delinquent attitude, leading to him often warning his grandsons to stay away from them.

Uncle Ruckus

Huey is the only recurring character to show any anger towards Ruckus, as the others are probably confused with his beliefs & non-sequitur statements. He fought Ruckus in ...Or Die Trying, but the episode ended with them kicking each other in the air above the trees. Ruckus often views himself as a white man and often aspires to be white, although it's not known whether this is due to a mental disorder, self loathing, or envy.

Awards

In the 2006 Glyph Comics Awards, Huey Freeman was named Best Male Character.

External links

• Boondocks at the Adult Swim website
• Boondocks at the Ucomics website