Descriptive Summary
Access
Access Restrictions
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Biography / Administrative History
Scope and Content of Collection
Arrangement
Indexing Terms
Bibliography
Other Finding Aids
Descriptive Summary
Title: Morrie Turner papers
Dates: 1924-2014
Bulk Dates: 1965-2014
Collection number: MS 24
Creator:
Turner, Morrie
Collection Size:
6 linear feet
(4 boxes + 2 oversized)
Repository:
African American Museum & Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.)
Abstract: Morrie Turner, the first nationally syndicated African American cartoonist, was born on December 11, 1923 in Oakland, California.
In the 1960’s Turner created “Wee Pals” a comic strip about an ethnically diverse group of friends.The “Wee Pals” originally
appeared in only 5 newspapers but that eventually grew to over 100. In 1972 ABC produced 17 episodes of the “Wee Pals” as
an animated series for their Saturday morning lineup.
Physical location: African American Museum and Library at Oakland
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Access
No access restrictions. Collection is open to the public.
Access Restrictions
Materials are for use in-library only, non-circulating.
Publication Rights
Permission to publish must be obtained from the African American Museum & Library at Oakland.
Preferred Citation
Morrie Turner Papers, MS 24, African American Museum & Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library. Oakland, California.
Biography / Administrative History
Morrie Turner, the first nationally syndicated African American cartoonist, was born on December 11, 1923 in Oakland, California.
Turner attended Oakland public schools including Cole Elementary and McClymonds High School before transferring to Berkeley
High in his senior year. After graduation he joined the Air Force, where he had his first opportunity to draw a comic strip
called “Rail Head” for Stars and Stripes magazine. After leaving the military he returned to Berkeley and married his sweetheart
Letha. The couple have lived and raised their family in Berkeley ever since.
Turner’s first civilian comic strip “Dinky Fellas” was modeled after his mentor Charles “Sparky” Schultz. In the 1960’s Turner
created “Wee Pals” a comic strip about an ethnically diverse group of friends. The comic strip made Turner the first African
American cartoonist to be nationally syndicated. Turner and the “Wee Pals” gave back to the community by working with organizations
including: the USO, The Boys Club of Oakland, and the White House Conference on Children. The “Wee Pals” originally appeared
in only 5 newspapers but that eventually grew to over 100. In 1972 ABC produced 17 episodes of the “Wee Pals” as an animated
series for their Saturday morning lineup.
In addition to his love of drawing Turner has been committed to raising awareness of African American history. In 1965 Turner
became one of the founding members of the East Bay Negro Historical Society (EBNHS).
Scope and Content of Collection
Morrie Turner Papers consist of five boxes, original drawings and comic strips of the Wee Pals as well as copies of those
clipped from the newspaper. Also included are coloring books by Turner, family photos, professional correspondence and contracts
as well as an oral history interview with Turner and original hand puppets based upon the Wee Pals.
The collection has been arranged into five series: Comic strips, publications, correspondence, biographical material, photographs
and artifacts.
Arrangement
Collection is arranged into series and chronologically within the series.
Series I. Comic Strips 1964-1995
Original Strips, 1965-1995
News Clippings, 1964-1993
Art Originals, 1985, 1989, and undated
“Wee Pals” published compilation books
Series II. Publications, 1969-2007
Series III. Correspondence, 1965-2005
Series IV. Biographical material, 1924-2014
Turner family photographs, 1924-1991
Series V. Artifacts, Undated
Miscellaneous, 1968-2011
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Turner, Morrie
Multiculturalism -- Caricatures and cartoons
Cartoonists—African-American
Oakland (Calif.)--History--20th century
Oakland (Calif.)--Culture
Ericsson, M. K. (1986). Morrie Turner Creator of "Wee Pals". Canada and United States: Regensteiner Publishing Enterprises,
Inc.
Turner, M. (2002, April 2). Oral History Interview with Morrie Turner. (N. Thompson, Interviewer)
Other Finding Aids
Jesse W. and Marcella Ford Papers, African American Museum & Library at Oakland; Eugene and Ruth Lasartemay Papers, African
American Museum & Library at Oakland; Morrie Turner Collection, Syracuse University Library http://library.syr.edu/digital/guides/t/turner_m.htm