New Category: "Did You Know..."
Did you know that Jackie Ormes was the first African-American female cartoonist?
Ormes was born in Pittsburgh, PA as Zelda Maven Jackson August 1, 1911. She started her career as a Proofreader for the Pittsburgh Courier—a weekly black newspaper, and moved to Chicago in 1941 where she wrote articles for the Chicago Defender—which was the largest and most influential black weekly newspaper during her time. Ormes continued writing for the Pittsburgh Courier and later started illustrating characters who became known as Patty-Jo, Ginger, Torchy Brown, and Candy.
Ormes was part of Chicago's black elite, and it is said that she modeled some of the cartoon characters after herself—"beautifully dressed and coiffed females, appearing and speaking out in ways that defied stereotyped images of blacks in the mainstream press" (credit: from jackieormes.com website).
During a time when the only option for a black doll was a mammy doll, Ormes developed the first American black doll that had an "extensive upscale wardrobe" (credit: wikipedia). Ormes contacted the Terri Lee doll company in 1947 to produce the doll, which lasted until the end of Ormes' two year contract. Production ended in 1949, and now, the dolls are considered valuable collector's items.
Ormes illustrated and wrote about topics that affected her time as well as issues that affect us today: "fashion, modern life, racial injustice, foreign and domestic policy, educational equality, the atom bomb, and environmental pollution" (credit: from jackieormes.com). Check out Ormes' book, illustrations, and doll creation below.
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Patty-Jo 'n' Ginger illustration and Patty-Jo Doll.
