Jackie Ormes made history

Hat Tip and shout out to another one of my favorite afrospear bloggers, Ms. Lady Deborah from the blog, From My Brown Eyed View. You see Ms Lady Deborah always throws down some knowledge. This time she is writing about Ms. Jackie Ormes (1911-1985)

Ms. Lady Deborah writes: I was channel surfing on Saturday morning and I stopped long enough to view an episode of Nick News. The children and Linda Ellerbee were discussing the subject of Black History Month.

During their discussion Ellerbee mentioned the name Jackie Ormes. At that particular time I had no idea who she was. After listening to the information provided on her achievements I knew that Ormes was a sistah that I wanted to share with you.

Jackie Ormes is the first African American female synciated cartoonist.

Ormes's cartoon characters (including Torchy Brown, Candy, Patty-Jo, and Ginger) delighted readers of newspapers such as the Pittsburgh Courier and Chicago Defender and spawned other products, including an elegant black doll with a stylish wardrobe and "Torchy Togs" paper dolls in the funny papers. Ormes was a member of Chicago's black elite, with a social circle that included the leading political figures and entertainers of the day. Her politics, which fell decidedly to the left and were apparent to even a casual reader of her cartoons and comic strips, eventually led to her investigation by the FBI during the McCarthy era. More HERE

Reminder from AAPP: Ms. Lady Deborah's blog is a must read!