Crispus Attucks, the first casualty of the American Revolution, was also one of the historical figures that Feelings included in the Tommy Traveler comic strip.įrom the late 1960s through the 1990s, Feelings concentrated on children's books, illustrating other authors' works as well as writing his own. In 1967, Feelings illustrated Crispus Attucks and the Minutemen, the third in Bertram Fitzgerald's Golden Legacy series of comic books about black history that eventually included sixteen volumes and was published until 1976.

įeelings moved to Tema, Ghana, in 1964 and served as illustrator and consultant for the African Review, a magazine published by the Ghanaian government, until 1966. Another example of Feelings's early work are the illustrations that accompanied 'The Negro in the U.S.' for Look Magazine, in 1961. In 1960 Feelings illustrated The Street Where You Live, a four-color comic for the NAACP's pamphlet on voter registration. This material was released in book form in 1991. Tommy Traveler is a black youth's dream adventures in American history while reading of notable black heroes. įeelings created the groundbreaking comic strip Tommy Traveler In the World of Negro History for the New York Age in 1958. His earliest known (signed) comic book work may be the story 'Scandal' in Key Publication's third issue of Radiant Love (February 1953). įeelings studied cartooning at the Cartoonists and Illustrators School from 1951 to 1953 and, after serving in the Air Force working in the Graphics Division, returned to New York to study illustration at the now-renamed School of Visual Arts from 1957 to 1960. Biography įeelings was born on May 19, 1933, in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, New York. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he lived in New York City, Ghana, Guyana, and Columbia, South Carolina. He was the first African-American artist to receive a Caldecott Honor, and was the recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1982.

His most famous book is The Middle Passage: White Ships/Black Cargo.įeelings was the recipient of numerous awards for his art in children's picture books. He focused on the African-American experience in his work. Tom Feelings (– August 25, 2003) was an artist, cartoonist, children's book illustrator, author, teacher, and activist.

Moja Means One by Muriel L. Feelings