''Golden Legacy'' was the umbrella title for a line of educational black history

comic books A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

published by Fitzgerald Publishing Co. from 1966 to 1976. ''Golden Legacy'' published comic book biographies of such notable figures as

Toussaint Louverture François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture (; also known as Toussaint L'Ouverture or Toussaint Bréda; 20 May 1743 – 7 April 1803) was a Haitian general and the most prominent leader of the Haitian Revolution. During his life, Louverture ...

Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross, March 10, 1913) was an American abolitionist and social activist. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 slaves, including family and friends, us ...

Crispus Attucks Crispus Attucks ( – March 5, 1770) was an American whaler, sailor, and stevedore of African and Native American descent, commonly regarded as the first person killed in the Boston Massacre and thus the first American killed in the Amer ...

Benjamin Banneker Benjamin Banneker (November 9, 1731October 19, 1806) was an African-American naturalist, mathematician, astronomer and almanac author. He was a landowner who also worked as a surveyor and farmer. Born in Baltimore County, Maryland, to a fr ...

Matthew Henson Matthew Alexander Henson (August 8, 1866March 9, 1955) was an African American explorer who accompanied Robert Peary on seven voyages to the Arctic over a period of nearly 23 years. They spent a total of 18 years on expeditions together.

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...

Robert Smalls Robert Smalls (April 5, 1839 – February 23, 1915) was an American politician, publisher, businessman, and maritime pilot. Born into slavery in Beaufort, South Carolina, he freed himself, his crew, and their families during the American Civil W ...

Joseph Cinqué Sengbe Pieh (18141879), also known as Joseph Cinqué or Cinquez and sometimes referred to mononymously as Cinqué, was a West African man of the Mende people who led a revolt of many Africans on the Spanish slave ship ''La Amistad'' in July 1839. ...

, Walter F. White,

Roy Wilkins Roy Ottoway Wilkins (August 30, 1901 – September 8, 1981) was a prominent activist in the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the 1930s to the 1970s. Wilkins' most notable role was his leadership of the National Association for the ...

Thurgood Marshall Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme Court's first African-A ...

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

Lewis Howard Latimer Lewis Howard Latimer (September 4, 1848 – December 11, 1928) was an African-American inventor and patent draftsman. His inventions included an evaporative air conditioner, an improved process for manufacturing carbon filaments for light bulbs, ...

, and

Granville Woods Granville Tailer Woods (April 23, 1856 – January 30, 1910) was an American inventor who held more than 50 patents in the U.S. He was the first African American mechanical and electrical engineer after the Civil War. Self-taught, he concent ...

. After acquiring corporate sponsorship from

Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, ...

and a number of other prominent corporations, ''Golden Legacy'' published a total of nine million copies 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 of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

accountant Bertram Fitzgerald, who also wrote seven of the volumes. Many of the other contributors to the ''Golden Legacy'' series were also black, including Joan Bacchus and

Tom Feelings Tom Feelings (May 19, 1933 – August 25, 2003) was an artist, cartoonist, children's book illustrator, author, teacher, and activist. He focused on the African-American experience in his work. His most famous book is ''The Middle Passage: Whit ...

. Other notable contributors included

Don Perlin Don Perlin (; born August 27, 1929) is an American comic book artist, writer, and editor. He is best known for Marvel Comics' ''Werewolf by Night'', ''Moon Knight'' (a character he co-created), '' The Defenders'', and ''Ghost Rider''. In the 1990s ...

and

Tony Tallarico Anthony F. Tallarico (September 20, 1933 – January 6, 2022) was an American comic book artist, and children's book illustrator and author. Often paired in a team with his generally uncredited penciler, Bill Fraccio, Tallarico drew primarily fo ...

Publication history

Origins

Bertram A. Fitzgerald, Jr. (b. November 6, 1932, in

Harlem, New York Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

; died January 10, 2017, in New York City)"Obituary: Bertram A Fitzgerald Jr.,"
Legacy.com (Jan. 12, 2017). Accessed Dec. 15, 2019. became interested in black history thanks to his seventh-grade history teacher, who made sure to highlight the contributions of blacks in various fields. Fitzgerald read ''

Classics Illustrated ''Classics Illustrated'' is an American comic book/magazine series featuring adaptations of literary classics such as ''Les Misérables'', ''Moby-Dick'', ''Hamlet'', and ''The Iliad''. Created by Albert Kanter, the series began publication in 1 ...

'' comic books as a child, but was frustrated to see the

experience either negatively stereotyped or omitted in their pages.Christopher, Tom
"Bertram A Fitzgerald and the Golden Legacy Series of Black History Comics"
(originally published in edited form in ''

Comics Buyer's Guide ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The public ...

''), TomChristopher.com (2004). After serving in the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

, he eventually graduated from

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

in 1956 with a degree in accounting. By the mid-1960s, at that point employed by the

New York State Department of Taxation and Finance The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance (NYSDTF) is the department of the New York state government responsible for taxation and revenue, including handling all tax forms and publications, and dispersing tax revenue to other agencies ...

, Fitzgerald decided to create a line of nonfiction comic books to inspire and educate his fellow African Americans.Williams, Maren
"Profiles in Black Cartooning: Bertram A. Fitzgerald and Golden Legacy,"
CBLDF (February 22, 2016). 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."Guyther, Mary Beth

''New York Times'' (Jan. 31, 1993).

''Golden Legacy''

Contacting former Air Force colleague Leo Carty, Fitzgerald commissioned Carty to write and illustrate a comic book story about

and the birth of

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

. 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. The result was the first volume of the ''Golden Legacy Illustrated History Magazine'', published in 1966. Joan Maynard (as Joan Bacchus), became an early contributor to ''Golden Legacy''. She worked with cartoonist

on the ''Saga of

'' volume (issue #2; 1966). (She later also wrote and pencilled issues about

ssue #5; 1969and

and ''

La Amistad ''La Amistad'' (; Spanish for ''Friendship'') was a 19th-century two- masted schooner, owned by a Spaniard colonizing Cuba. It became renowned in July 1839 for a slave revolt by Mende captives, who had been captured and sold to European slave ...

'' mutiny ssue #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 of ''Golden Legacy'' this way, Fitzgerald approached the

for assistance. He was able to make the case that blacks bought more

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

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 of ''Golden Legacy'' in bulk (at a volume discount), distributing them to schools, libraries, churches, and organizations such as the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

, the

National Urban League The National Urban League, formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Am ...

and

Reading Is Fundamental Reading Is Fundamental, Inc. (RIF) is the oldest and largest non-profit children's literacy organization in the United States. RIF provides books (print and digital) and reading resources to children nationwide with supporting literacy resources ...

programs. With Coke's backing, Fitzgerald was also able to connect with better printing services. The contents of ''Golden Legacy'' issue #3, on

and the

Minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

, had already been created by cartoonist

for another publication; the story was adapted into the third volume of the ''Golden Legacy'' series, published in 1967. African-American historian

Benjamin Arthur Quarles Benjamin Arthur Quarles (January 23, 1904 – November 16, 1996) was an American historian, administrator, educator, and writer, whose scholarship centered on black American social and political history. Major books by Quarles include ''The Negro ...

, then a professor of History at

Morgan State College Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1867, the university, then known ...

, 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. Howard Darden became Fitzgerald's art director with issue #7; he also illustrated volumes on

(issues #7–8; 1969–1970) and ancient African kingdoms (issue #15; 1972). Issues #3–11 of ''Golden Legacy'' were published with the assistance of the Coca-Cola Company, and the series' final issues enjoyed similar sponsorship from such companies as A&P,

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...

, Avon, the

Bowery Savings Bank The Bowery Savings Bank was a bank in New York City, chartered in May 1834. By 1980, it had over 35 branches in the New York metropolitan area. In 1992, it was sold to H. F. Ahmanson & Co. for $200 million. The bank's first branch at 130 Bowe ...

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

, Equitable Life,

Exxon ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

, Philadelphia Electric, and

Woolworth's Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses * F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores * Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shops ...

. ''Golden Legacy'''s final issue, #16, on the black inventors

and

, was published in 1976.

Baylor Publishing Company copyright infringement

In 1983, Seattle, Washington-based Bill R. Baylor of Baylor Publishing Co. and Community Enterprizes ic fraudulently convinced Fitzgerald's printer that he had bought the business from Fitzgerald. Baylor then used the original plates and negatives to republish the ''Golden Legacy'' series under his imprint. Bertram Fitzgerald sued for

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...

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.

Other Fitzgerald titles

In 1970 Fitzgerald Publishing produced a single issue of the

public service A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...

publication ''Drugs... Where It's At'', which Fitzgerald wrote and was illustrated by

. Tallarico was known for co-creating Lobo in 1965, the first comic book title to star an African-American hero. (Tallarico also illustrated some stories in ''Golden Legacy''.) Fitzgerald Publishing followed the ''Golden Legacy'' series with seven issues of the integrated teen humor comic ''Fast Willie Jackson'' in 1976 and 1977. It was written by Fitzgerald and illustrated by Gus Lemoine.

Issues

Legacy

Publisher Fitzgerald was recognized for his work in 2005 at the

East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention The East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention (ECBACC) is the Philadelphia region's first black comic book convention, bringing together hundreds of comic book, science fiction, and fantasy creators, their colleagues, and their fans. The ECBACC is ...

(ECBACC), where he was given the Glyph Comics Pioneer Lifetime Achievement Award."Bertram Fitzgerald,"
East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention official website (May 1, 2005).Watson, Rich. Accessed Apr. 13, 2009.

References

External links

* *
GOLDEN LEGACY ILLUSTRATED HISTORY MAGAZINES, 1966–1976
Archives & Special Collections, Charles Evans Inniss Memorial Library of Medgar Evers College, CUNY
Profile of Fitzgerald and ''Golden Legacy''
at the Museum of Uncut Funk * Sands-O’Connor, Karen
"Leaving a Golden Legacy: Black History in Comic Book Form,"
''The Race to Read'' blog (July 29, 2018). {{DEFAULTSORT:Golden Legacy 1966 comics debuts 1976 comics endings African-American comics Black people in comics Biographical comics Comics based on real people Educational comics Non-fiction comics Defunct American comics