Black newspapers have historically played an important role within the African American community, reaching preeminence during the World War II era. Embodied in the Double V Campaign, they sought victories for democracy both at home and abroad. In analyzing two different types of cartoons—etiquette cartoons and political cartoons—present within a local Black newspaper during the war and post-war period, this analysis illustrates how World War II-era Black newspapers informed racial formation processes at multiple levels by targeting structural inequalities and advising interpersonal behavior. Specifically, these cartoons prescribed behaviors for public conduct, child rearing, and gender/sexual relations upheld by respectability politics. Such esthetic and discursive mechanisms illuminate the structural and ideological terrains constituting the Black counterpublic as well as guideposts for challenging and navigating the dominant racial discourse.

黑人报纸历来在非裔美国人社区中发挥着重要作用，在二战时期达到了卓越地位。体现在双V运动中，他们在国内外寻求民主的胜利。在分析战争和战后期间出现在当地黑人报纸上的两种不同类型的漫画——礼仪漫画和政治漫画时，这一分析说明了二战时期的黑人报纸如何通过针对结构不平等和建议人际行为。具体来说，这些漫画规定了尊重政治所维护的公共行为、儿童抚养和性别/性关系的行为。