Jackie Ormes’s Torchy Brown in Dixie to Harlem (1937–38) was the ﬁrst comic strip by a Black woman to appear in a widely
read newspaper. The strip tells the story of Torchy, a young woman who leaves Mississippi to become a performer in New
York City. Torchy’s story reﬂects the experience of the Great Migration (1910–1970), when millions of Black Americans left
the South in search of opportunities in other parts of the United States. Torchy Brown thus shows how Ormes used comics
to comment humorously on issues affecting Black Americans, which she continued to do throughout her career.
To show how Ormes’s Torchy Brown inspired other Black women to write comic strips in the 1930s
To illustrate how the subjects Ormes addressed in her comic strips changed over the course of her career
To give an example of how Ormes presented the experiences of Black Americans in her comic strips
To claim that several characters in Torchy Brown were based on people that Ormes knew personally
Choice C is the best answer. The text describes how Torchy Brown depicted the experiences of a young Black woman
experiencing America’s Great Migration. It further states that Ormes continued to use comics throughout her career to
humorously comment on important issues impacting Black Americans.
Choice A is incorrect. The text never mentions other Black women comic strip writers. Choice B is incorrect. The text never
mentions any changes in the subjects Ormes addressed. Choice D is incorrect. The text never mentions the inspiration for
characters in Torchy Brown.