Jackie Ormes Draws the Future

Zelda Jackson - or Jackie - was born in Pittsburgh in 1911 and discovered early on that she could create any adventure. A field she could run through as far as her hand could draw. An ocean she could color as blue as she liked. As she grew, Jackie put her artistic talents to use, doodling and chronicling daily life for her high school yearbook. But she was already deaming of bigger things. Jackie would go on to create cartoon characters from the 1930s to 1950s - Torchy Brown, Candy, Patty-Jo 'n' Ginger - who entertained readers of African American newspapers. The characters were honest and bold and witty, and through them, Jackie tackled racism, pollution, and social justice - and made the world listen. Here is an inspiring picture-book biography about the first Black female American cartoonist, written and illustrated by one of the first Black female New Yorker cartoonists.