She was born Zelda Mavin Jackson in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1911. Her father was killed in an automobile accident when she was six years old. Her mother remarried and the family moved to the suburbs of Pittsburgh. During high school, she began writing sports articles for the Pittsburgh Courier, a weekly African-American newspaper. She was also an accomplished self-taught artist and worked on the high school yearbook. She was known as “Jackie” after her last name. After high school in 1930, she began full-time work at the newspaper as a proofreader, writer and editor. She also married Earl Ormes in 1936, but separated from him after only a year of marriage, choosing not to divorce. They had one child.

On May 1, 1937, she debuted a comic strip called “Torchy Brown in Dixie to Harlem” which gained national syndication. It was about the adventures of a teenager from Mississippi who travelled to New York to become a singer in the Cotton Club. Her humorous comic took on issues such as racism, pollution, literacy, and morals. The strip ran until 1940. She became the first female African-American cartoonist in American history.

In 1942, she moved to Chicago and wrote for The Chicago Defender, one of the leading black newspapers in the country. She also created a new comic strip called “Candy” after World War II. In 1945, she returned to Pittsburgh to create a strip called “Patty-Jo ‘n’ Ginger” which ran for 11 years. It featured a young black girl who had insight into social and political issues of the day. By 1950, she added a remake of “Torchy” into the newspaper. In the newspaper were paper doll cut-outs of the main character, depicting black women as well-dressed with healthy physiques instead of the demeaning black-female stereotypes of the time. The new depiction of the character touched on issues such as free speech, the Red Scare, interracial marriage, and segregation.

Ormes was forced to retire in 1956 due to rheumatoid arthritis. She moved to Chicago and continued to volunteer for her community by organizing fashion shows. She was an avid doll collector and involved with various doll clubs throughout the country. She was a founding board member for the DuSable Museum of African-American History in 1961. Ormes passed away in 1985 of a cerebral hemorrhage. In 2014, she was inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame. Her art and passion for contemporary issues through comics made Ormes a Great American.

Salem Poor was born a slave in Andover, Massachusetts sometime during 1747. In 1769, he was able to buy his freedom for 27 pounds, equivalent to a year’s salary at the time. He married a free mulatto woman in 1771 and continued to live in Andover.

In May of 1775, Poor enlisted in the local militia. After the events at Lexington & Concord, Poor’s regiment was ordered to march from Cambridge to Charleston and dig in at the top of Bunker Hill outside of the town. As the Battle of Bunker Hill took place, Poor distinguished himself by killing British Colonel James Abercrombie, who had just taken over command of British forces after the fatal wounding of British General Joseph Warren.

One month later, General George Washington ended the recruitment of blacks in the colonial militias. Four months later, he issued orders that prohibited any black men from serving in the Continental Army. Many of the officers of Poor’s regiment wrote a petition citing his heroism, bravery and conduct. When the British got word of Washington’s orders, Lord Dunmore offered freedom to all slaves who would fight for the British. Washington immediately changed his position on black recruitment and Poor re-enlisted.

Poor stayed with the Continental Army until 1780. Records show that Poor participated in the Battle of White Plains, Battle of Saratoga, Battle of Monmouth and camped with Washington at Valley Forge. He died sometime around 1802. In 1976, a commemorative bicentennial stamp was issued depicting Salem Poor as a revolutionary war hero. His actions during the American Revolution made him a Great American.