02/15/2023
Go do it! Doesn't matter if no one who looks or thinks like you has done it before. Go blaze your trail, beautiful people! 💞💞💞
In the early 1990s, Barbara Brandon-Croft became the first Black woman whose comic strip was published nationally. Her comic, “Where I’m Coming From,” has been distributed across 60 newspapers. It follows nine central female characters who converse casually with each other about a range of topics: politics, dating, LGBTQ+, motherhood, racism, self-love, and more. Brandon-Croft often takes her topics right from the headlines.
In 1989, Brandon-Croft sent out her first pitch, titled “Few Black Cartoonists have entered national syndication since the 1970s. None have been Black Women,” and was noticed by Universal Press editor Lee Salem, who published such comics as “Calvin and Hobbs," "Cathy,” and “The Boondocks.”
“I’m tired of women being summed up by their body parts,” she explained in a 1992 Cartoonist PROfiles article. “I’m interested in giving my women a little more dignity. I want folks to understand that women — in addition to breasts — have ideas and opinions. Look us in the eye and hear what we’re saying, please!”
She has been and continues to be a beacon for other minority artists.
Source: The Washington Post]
Photo Credits: The Washington Post]
