1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,320 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Welcome to This Day in History Class, where 3 00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:10,239 Speaker 1: we bring you a new tidbit from history every day. 4 00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:24,760 Speaker 1: Today is August one, nineteen The day was August first, 5 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:30,400 Speaker 1: nineteen eleven. Zelda Jackson ORMs, better known as Jackie ORMs, 6 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:35,440 Speaker 1: was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. ORMs is considered the first 7 00:00:35,479 --> 00:00:40,560 Speaker 1: African American woman who was a professional cartoonist. Jackie's parents 8 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:45,040 Speaker 1: were William Winnifield Jackson and Mary Brown Jackson. Jackie's mom 9 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:48,920 Speaker 1: raised Jackie and her younger sister after their father died 10 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:52,560 Speaker 1: in a car accident, but when Jackie was a child, 11 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 1: the family moved to Minonga Hala, Pennsylvania. She went to 12 00:00:56,920 --> 00:01:00,480 Speaker 1: Monoga Hala High School, where she was already writing drawing. 13 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:05,160 Speaker 1: While in high school, the Pittsburgh Courier, a black newspaper, 14 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:09,120 Speaker 1: assigned her to cover a boxing match, but after she graduated, 15 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: she began working as a proof reader at the Pittsburgh Courier. 16 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:17,480 Speaker 1: She also worked as a freelance reporter covering police beats, 17 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:21,800 Speaker 1: court cases, and human interest stories, but she was more 18 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:26,640 Speaker 1: interested in drawing. In nineteen thirty seven, Jackie's first comic 19 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:30,280 Speaker 1: strip Torti Brown and Dixie to Harlem, first appeared in 20 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:34,800 Speaker 1: the Pittsburgh Courier. The comic was about Torti Brown, a 21 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:38,080 Speaker 1: black girl from a small town in Mississippi who moved 22 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 1: to New York City to become a performer. Torti was 23 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:45,200 Speaker 1: self reliant, and she found success at the Cotton Club 24 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:49,960 Speaker 1: in Harlem. Though the comic strip followed Torti's escapades, it 25 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:53,960 Speaker 1: also addressed racism in the US and the challenges black 26 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:58,400 Speaker 1: people moving north face. The Courier was widely read in 27 00:01:58,600 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 1: and outside of Pittsburgh, and the strip also ran in 28 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 1: more than a dozen other black newspapers around the country. 29 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:09,360 Speaker 1: The comic strip ran until April of ninety eight, and 30 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:12,520 Speaker 1: in the end there were fifty three original Torti strips. 31 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:17,640 Speaker 1: Jackie married Earl ORMs in nineteen thirty six. They moved 32 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 1: to Ohio where Earl could be closer to his family, 33 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:25,919 Speaker 1: but they eventually moved to Chicago. They had a child, Jacqueline, 34 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:29,480 Speaker 1: but she died at age three of a brain aneurysm. 35 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:33,560 Speaker 1: While in Chicago, Arms began working as a reporter for 36 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 1: the Chicago Defender, a black newspaper, but by nineteen her 37 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: single panel cartoon called Candy that was about a housemaid, 38 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:46,160 Speaker 1: began publishing in The Defender in a run that lasted 39 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:52,040 Speaker 1: several months. In nineteen five, Jackie's single panel cartoon Patty 40 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: Joe and Ginger began running in the Pittsburgh Courier, the 41 00:02:55,639 --> 00:03:00,440 Speaker 1: Chicago Defender, and other black papers. The cartoon was about 42 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:03,280 Speaker 1: an outspoken girl named Patty Joe and her silent and 43 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:07,840 Speaker 1: consistently shocked older sister, Ginger. It ran for eleven years 44 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:12,880 Speaker 1: until nineteen fifty six. The cartoon even inspired a Patty 45 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:17,000 Speaker 1: Joe doll that had an extensive wardrobe and was successful 46 00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:20,160 Speaker 1: among black and white children, though production of the doll 47 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:24,360 Speaker 1: did not last long. When the smith Man Syndicate reached 48 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:27,160 Speaker 1: out to ORMs in nineteen fifty and asked her to 49 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:30,560 Speaker 1: bring back the Torty character, she agreed to do so 50 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:35,400 Speaker 1: and created the comic strip Torti Brown's Heartbeats. At first, 51 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:38,480 Speaker 1: she was set to just draw the panels and work 52 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:41,200 Speaker 1: with a writer to come up with the storylines, but 53 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 1: she eventually gained soul control over the production of the cartoon, 54 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:48,400 Speaker 1: and she addressed big issues of the day in this 55 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:53,960 Speaker 1: cartoon too, like environmental pollution, racial injustice and foreign policy. 56 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:59,520 Speaker 1: The FBI investigated ORMs because she attended communist meetings, but 57 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:02,240 Speaker 1: no reference to the left leaning views espouse in her 58 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:07,640 Speaker 1: cartoons appeared in her files Torchy togs or paper dolls 59 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 1: of Torchy with a range of up scale outfits supplemented 60 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 1: the comic strip. Her career as a cartoonist ended when 61 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:18,520 Speaker 1: The Defender and Courier neglected comic strips to focus on 62 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:23,440 Speaker 1: social and political issues, but she continued to create murals 63 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:26,919 Speaker 1: and other art into her later years, until her rheumatoid 64 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:31,000 Speaker 1: arthritis got too severe for her to work on them. 65 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:35,000 Speaker 1: Arms was also engaged in her community through organizations like 66 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:38,640 Speaker 1: the Chicago Urban League and the south Side Community Art Center. 67 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:42,599 Speaker 1: She and her husband were friends with artists like jazz 68 00:04:42,600 --> 00:04:46,599 Speaker 1: singer Sara Van and Lena Horne. She died of a 69 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:51,960 Speaker 1: cerebral hemorrhage at age seventy four in Salem, Ohio. Jackie 70 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:55,679 Speaker 1: ORMs did pioneering work as a syndicated cartoonist, and she's 71 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:59,000 Speaker 1: remembered for her nuanced depictions of black women and girls, 72 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:02,200 Speaker 1: as well as the bold social commentary she put in 73 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:06,640 Speaker 1: her cartoons I'm Eve, Jeff Cote and Hopefully you know 74 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:10,440 Speaker 1: a little more about history today than you did yesterday, 75 00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:13,679 Speaker 1: and if you haven't gotten your fill of history after 76 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:18,240 Speaker 1: listening to today's episode, you can follow us on Twitter, Instagram, 77 00:05:18,279 --> 00:05:24,039 Speaker 1: and Facebook at t d i h C podcast. We'll 78 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:36,159 Speaker 1: see you tomorrow. 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