| Golden Legacy | |
|---|---|
 The cover ofGolden Legacy vol. 1 (1966). Illustration ofToussaint Louverture by Leo Carty. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Fitzgerald Publishing Co. |
| Schedule | Irregular |
| Format | standard |
| Genre | Black history |
| Publication date | 1966–1976 |
| No. of issues | 16 |
| Creative team | |
| Written by | Bertram Fitzgerald,Joan Bacchus,Don Perlin, Leo Carty,Tom Feelings, Robert Fitzgerald, Warren Parker, Francis Taylor |
| Artist(s) | Joan Bacchus, Leo Carty, Howard Darden,Tom Feelings, Ezra Jackson,Don Perlin,Tony Tallarico |
| Editor | Bertram Fitzgerald |
Golden Legacy was the umbrella title for a line of educationalBlack historycomic books published by Fitzgerald Publishing Co. from 1966 to 1976.Golden Legacy published comic book biographies of such notable figures asToussaint Louverture,Harriet Tubman,Crispus Attucks,Benjamin Banneker,Matthew Henson,Alexandre Dumas,Frederick Douglass,Robert Smalls,Joseph Cinqué,Walter F. White,Roy Wilkins,Thurgood Marshall,Martin Luther King Jr.,Alexander Pushkin,Lewis Howard Latimer, andGranville Woods.
After acquiring corporate sponsorship fromCoca-Cola Company and a number of other prominent corporations,Golden Legacy published a total of nine million copies[1] of its 16 32-page full-color volumes, distributing many of them to schools, libraries, churches, and civil rights organizations.
Golden Legacy was the brainchild ofAfrican American accountant Bertram Fitzgerald, who also wrote seven of the volumes. Many of the other contributors to theGolden Legacy series were also Black, includingJoan Bacchus andTom Feelings. Other notable contributors includedDon Perlin andTony Tallarico.
Bertram A. Fitzgerald, Jr. (b. November 6, 1932, inHarlem, New York;[1] died January 10, 2017, in New York City)[2] became interested in Black history thanks to his seventh-grade history teacher, who made sure to highlight the contributions of Blacks in various fields.[3] Fitzgerald readClassics Illustrated comic books as a child, but was frustrated to see theAfrican American experience either negatively stereotyped or omitted in their pages.[1]
After serving in theU.S. Air Force, he eventually graduated fromBrooklyn College in 1956 with a degree in accounting.[2] By the mid-1960s, at that point employed by theNew York State Department of Taxation and Finance, Fitzgerald decided to create a line of nonfiction comic books to inspire and educate his fellow African Americans.[3][1]
Fitzgerald's goal was to help "develop greater pride and self-esteem in Black youngsters and adults." Fitzgerald felt that whites were also harmed by the omission of Blacks in the history books. As he said, "It encourages them to think that they made every worthwhile contribution to society, and it misleads them to believe that they are somehow superior."[4]
Contacting former Air Force colleague Leo Carty, Fitzgerald commissioned Carty to write and illustrate a comic book story aboutToussaint Louverture and the birth ofHaiti. After some difficulty finding a printer willing to print color comics on Black history, Fitzgerald now had to find distribution. Shut out of the traditional newsstand distribution system due to the focus on Black history, Fitzgerald hooked up with a group of independent distributors called "commission men", who supplied the Black community with specialized beauty products and books.[1] The result was the first volume of theGolden Legacy Illustrated History Magazine, published in 1966.
Joan Maynard (as Joan Bacchus), became an early contributor toGolden Legacy. She worked with cartoonistTom Feelings on theSaga ofHarriet Tubman volume (issue #2; 1966). (She later also wrote and pencilled issues aboutMatthew Henson [issue #5; 1969] andJoseph Cinqué andLa Amistad mutiny [issue #10; 1970].)
Although the commission men network enabled Fitzgerald to get his comics to his intended audience, he had trouble collecting payment. After distributing two issues ofGolden Legacy this way, issues #3–11[3] ofGolden Legacy were published with the assistance ofThe Coca-Cola Company. Fitzgerald approached the Coca-Cola for assistance, making the case that Blacks bought moreCoca-Cola per capita than white customers, and that the company should cater more to that audience by supporting his struggling publishing company. Beginning with issue #3, Coke purchased many copies ofGolden Legacy in bulk (at a volume discount), distributing them to schools, libraries, churches,[4] and organizations such as theNAACP, theNational Urban League andReading Is Fundamental programs. With Coke's backing, Fitzgerald was also able to connect with better printing services.[1]
The contents ofGolden Legacy issue #3, onCrispus Attucks and theMinutemen, had already been created by cartoonistTom Feelings for another publication; the story was adapted into the third volume of theGolden Legacy series, published in 1967. African-American historianBenjamin Arthur Quarles, then a professor of History atMorgan State College, was brought on as a consultant, and the issue featured a full-color back cover ad for the Coca-Cola Company featuring photos of African American models.[1]
Howard Darden became Fitzgerald's art director with issue #7;[1] he also illustrated volumes onFrederick Douglass (issues #7–8; 1969–1970) and ancient African kingdoms (issue #15; 1972).
The series' final issues enjoyed sponsorship from such companies asA&P,AT&T,Avon, theBowery Savings Bank,Columbia Pictures,Equitable Life,Exxon,McDonald's,Philadelphia Electric, andWoolworth's.[1][3]
Golden Legacy's final issue, #16, on the Black inventorsLewis Howard Latimer andGranville Woods, was published in 1976.
In 1983, Seattle, Washington-based Bill R. Baylor of Baylor Publishing Co. and Community Enterprizes [sic], fraudulently convinced Fitzgerald's printer that he had bought the business from Fitzgerald. Baylor then used the original plates and negatives to republish theGolden Legacy series under his imprint. Bertram Fitzgerald sued forcopyright infringement and won after a five-year court battle. In 1988 he got the negatives back and was able to publish his own comics again. Baylor, meanwhile, disappeared and never paid the damages he had been assessed by the court.[3][1]
In 1970 Fitzgerald Publishing produced a single issue of thepublic service publicationDrugs... Where It's At, which Fitzgerald wrote and was illustrated byTony Tallarico.[1] Tallarico was known for co-creatingLobo in 1965, the first comic book title to star an African-American hero. (Tallarico also illustrated some stories inGolden Legacy.)
Fitzgerald Publishing followed theGolden Legacy series with seven issues of the integratedteen humor comicFast Willie Jackson in 1976 and 1977. It was written by Fitzgerald and illustrated by Gus Lemoine.[1]
| Issue | Date | Title | Writer | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1966 | The Saga ofToussaint L'Ouverture and the Birth of Haiti | Leo Carty | Leo Carty | Short backup stories aboutCharles R. Drew andEstevanico[5] |
| 2 | 1966 | The Saga ofHarriet Tubman, the Moses of her people | Joan Bacchus | Tom Feelings | Short back-up stories aboutDaniel Hale Williams,Ira Aldridge, BishopJames Augustine Healy, andJean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable |
| 3 | 1967 | Crispus Attucks and the Minutemen | Tom Feelings | Tom Feelings | Short back-up stories by Ezra Jackson aboutDeborah Sampson,James Armistead Lafayette,Peter Salem, andJames Forten |
| 4 | 1968 | The Life ofBenjamin Banneker | Francis Taylor | Ezra Jackson | Short back-up stories aboutWalter Washington andBishop Richard Allen |
| 5 | 1969 | The Life ofMatthew Henson | Joan Bacchus | Joan Bacchus | Short backup stories aboutChevalier de Saint-Georges andKatherine Johnson[6] |
| 6 | 1969 | Alexander Dumas and Family | Bertram Fitzgerald | Ezra Jackson | Biographical stories ofThomas-Alexandre Dumas (1762-1806),Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870), andAlexandre Dumas fils (1824-1895). One-page backup stories aboutChevalier de Saint-Georges andGaston Monnerville, with illustrations by Joan Bacchus. |
| 7 | 1969 | Frederick Douglass Part 1 | Bertram Fitzgerald | Howard Darden | One-page backup stories aboutJoseph Cinqué andRobert Smalls, with illustrations by Joan Bacchus |
| 8 | 1970 | Frederick Douglass Part 2 | Bertram Fitzgerald | Howard Darden[7] | Short backup story aboutBenjamin O. Davis Jr. |
| 9 | 1970 | The Life ofRobert Smalls | Bertram Fitzgerald Don Perlin | Don Perlin | |
| 10 | 1970 | Joseph Cinqué and theAmistad Mutiny | Joan Bacchus | Joan Bacchus | Short backup stories about theCreole case andLynden Pindling |
| 11 | 1970 | Men of Action:White,Wilkins &Marshall | Bertram Fitzgerald | Ezra Jackson Don Perlin Tony Tallarico | Short back-up stories aboutJames Weldon Johnson (by Jeffrey Scott) andW. E. B. Du Bois |
| 12 | 1970 | Black Cowboys | Don Perlin | Don Perlin | Includes stories aboutNat Love,Bill Pickett, andCrawford Goldsby ("Cherokee Bill") |
| 13 | 1972 | Martin Luther King | Bertram Fitzgerald | Don Perlin | |
| 14 | 1972 | The Life ofAlexander Pushkin | Warren Parker | Tony Tallarico | |
| 15 | 1972 | Ancient African Kingdoms | Robert Fitzgerald | Howard Darden | |
| 16 | 1976 | The Black InventorsLatimer andWoods | Bertram Fitzgerald | Leo Carty Tony Tallarico |
Publisher Fitzgerald was recognized for his work in 2005 at theEast Coast Black Age of Comics Convention (ECBACC), where he was given theGlyph Comics Pioneer Lifetime Achievement Award.[8][dead link][9]