Arie Monroe first introduced me to the story of Jackie Ormes, the first black female cartoonist, a few years ago. But this week, one of my contributors shared a link to the BNP/CBLDF article on Jackie's career on the Facebook page, and then my dude TRES posted this portrait of her on his blog... so I just had to go looking for more info on Jackie, cause I'm a nerd like that...
After poking around the internet, I was impressed with the activist's voice in Ormes's comics, and with her entrepreneurial spirit. Jackie wasn't some pretty bird with a little drawing ability. She wasn't a humble working girl who knew her place.
Jackie Ormes was the epitome of a Boss: A freshly dressed, outspoken creative entrepreneur with sculpted eyebrows. When a dude who was assigned to write for her couldn't conceive of the kind of women she represented in her work, she put him on blast...
Ormes said she constantly had to remind the writer that the character she created “was no moonstruck crybaby, and that she wouldn’t perish between heartbreaks. I have never liked dreamy little women who can’t hold their own.”
She took control of her characters and made it do what it do. That's what's up. Now I wanna get this hardcover
Jackie Ormes: The First African American Woman Cartoonist by Nancy Goldstein.
Maybe I'll buy it for my wife. Not for her birthday, but just a random gift (NOTE TO MARRIED DUDES: Be prepared to buy your wife random gifts frequently!). My wife has an appreciation of history, and I think she would enjoy reading a book about such an important African-American woman. Time to crack open my piggy bank...
Peace,
-samax
Samax Amen is a professional Content Developer, Illustrator and Cartoonist. Click here to hire him to breathe life into your concepts.
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