Day 11 Black History Month 2021 - Morris (Morrie) Turner
Morris (Morrie) Turner (December 1923 – January 2014)
For day 11 of Black History Month, we’d like to highlight Morrie Turner, an American artist, cartoonist and creator of the comic strip “Wee Pals”, the first American syndicated comic strip with an integrated cast of characters.
Morrie Turner was raised in Oakland, California and attended school at Cole Elementary, McClymonds High School and Berkeley High School.
After graduating high school, he enlisted in the military during World War 2, and served as a mechanic with the Tuskegee Airmen. During his time in the military, he also did illustrations that ended up being picked up in the newspaper “Stars and Stripes.”
Continuing to illustrate and refine his skill as a cartoonist, at one point he began to question why there were no minorities represented in comic strips. His mentor, Charles M. Schulz (Peanuts), suggested that he create one.
His first attempt was a comic strip called Dinky Fellas, which featured an all-black cast but was only picked up by one paper. In 1965, he ended up renaming the comic to Wee Pals and integrating the cast to include some of his childhood playmates who were White, Black, Asian, Hispanic and Jewish. Not surprisingly, in 1965, Wee Pals was considered by some, to be subversive.
Wee Pals was initially only picked up by 5 newspapers, but after Martin Luther King’s assassination in 1968, over 100 newspapers picked it up.
Turner received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Cartoonists Society in 2003.
For day 11 of Black History Month, we’d like to highlight Morrie Turner, an American artist, cartoonist and creator of the comic strip “Wee Pals”, the first American syndicated comic strip with an integrated cast of characters.
Morrie Turner was raised in Oakland, California and attended school at Cole Elementary, McClymonds High School and Berkeley High School.
After graduating high school, he enlisted in the military during World War 2, and served as a mechanic with the Tuskegee Airmen. During his time in the military, he also did illustrations that ended up being picked up in the newspaper “Stars and Stripes.”
Continuing to illustrate and refine his skill as a cartoonist, at one point he began to question why there were no minorities represented in comic strips. His mentor, Charles M. Schulz (Peanuts), suggested that he create one.
His first attempt was a comic strip called Dinky Fellas, which featured an all-black cast but was only picked up by one paper. In 1965, he ended up renaming the comic to Wee Pals and integrating the cast to include some of his childhood playmates who were White, Black, Asian, Hispanic and Jewish. Not surprisingly, in 1965, Wee Pals was considered by some, to be subversive.
Wee Pals was initially only picked up by 5 newspapers, but after Martin Luther King’s assassination in 1968, over 100 newspapers picked it up.
Turner received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Cartoonists Society in 2003.