June 26, 1948. Caption for this comic states: "Gosh—Thanks if you're beggin' for me—But how's about getting our rich Uncle Sam to put good public schools all over so we can be trained fit for any college?" Source: Jackieormes.com.

Patty-Jo 'n' Ginger

Through her comics, Jackie Ormes portrayed real-life issues that African-Americans dealt with at the time, such as racial segregation and discrimination. For example, in the comic to the left, Patty-Jo asks Ginger why the government does not use their surplus of money to build quality public schools everywhere so anyone can get an education and have a chance to go to college. Ormes also skillfully symbolizes this message through the "Negro College Fund" booklet and cards that say "Pledge" in Ginger's hands. This message breaks barriers by passive-aggressively calling out the government for giving black communities lower-quality schools, which is not only discriminating, but also treating them as if they are second-class citizens. In order to professionally discuss these topics in this comic series, Ormes skillfully made her “Patty-Jo” character a little girl, which adds a touch of empathy and comedy to these otherwise controversial subjects.

Even in her earliest comic series, Torchy Brown in Dixie to Harlem, Ormes was breaking barriers in the African-American community. In this particular comic strip, Torchy Brown is about to board a train when she notices a sign pointing to the right that says “Colored” and another sign pointing to the left that says “White.” Instead of obeying the signs though, Torchy decides to pretend she cannot read and “accidentally” boards the white train car. This broke barriers because Ormes was showing Torchy challenging segregation. Ormes breaks these barriers by clearly protesting against the “Separate but Equal” Doctrine, showing that African-Americans still are not being treated equally and deserve their basic rights.