NGA - National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
02/29/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 02/29/2024 11:32
20th Century African American Cartographer Louise E. Jefferson Maps the Marginalized
20th Century African American Cartographer Louise E. Jefferson Maps the Marginalized
"A picture is worth a thousand words," according to the popular adage. Native Washingtonian Louise E. Jefferson took this to heart and, throughout her cartography career, produced vivid, feature-packed maps that told the stories of thousands of marginalized people in a colorful, folklife style.
Although Jefferson applied her artistic talents and clever themes to many non-cartographic products as well, she is best known for her maps, which educated and influenced public opinion and helped dispel stereotypes about African Americans and Africa.
Jefferson's maps featured intricate details and ornate illustrations, including depictions of various professions and inclusive populations. Among the vignettes of prominent people in humanities and social studies - politics, music and literature - is historical information on Native Americans and people from Africa and China. She even created a map illustrating a timeline of the tragic "Trail of Tears."
Jefferson created compelling maps that depicted the displacement of groups such as Japanese-Americans sent to internment camps during World War II and Mexican nationals who migrated to the American Southwest. She often decorated the outer frames on these maps with drawings of the occupations of the displaced groups - communities frequently relegated to the metaphorical margins of society.
The fact that most of her maps told the stories of marginalized peoples spurred sociologist Nancy Peluso to call Jefferson a "counter-mapper" - a term she coined to denote the practice of making marginalized people visible in terms of geographic spaces and their histories.
Cartography for change
Jefferson's maps were never intended to be solely picturesque or entertaining infographics. They served another purpose - to change how people think about the plight of marginalized groups. She used positive messages in her maps to combat stereotypes.
Jefferson also humanized nameless individuals within marginalized groups through her vivid maps, which were embellished with colorful portraits, symbols and scenes. Her mastery of art and cartography resulted in blended products that not only informed audiences, but entertained and enlightened us to the many injustices suffered by these marginalized groups.
For example, the map below offers facts about the African continent. By celebrating its unique cultures and the positive and interesting aspects of the African continent and its inhabitants, Jefferson hoped to dispel negative and inaccurate perceptions about Africans with authentic information in an interesting visual package.
Africa: A Friendship Map. Louise E. Jefferson, 1945. (Copyright Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division)
Another Jefferson map tracks uprooted people in the Unites States and represents how effective her maps were at suggesting and influencing change in American policy and public opinion. What makes this map so powerful is that it depicts the massive population dislocations and movements and the changing social conditions stemming from World War II. Jefferson took a risk in creating this map, which highlighted the plight of groups who suffered as the result of racism and related policy decisions.
Uprooted people of the U.S.A. Louise E. Jefferson, 1945. (Copyright Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division)
A career devoted to education and the arts
Louise E. Jefferson was born Washington D.C. in 1908 to a family that encouraged her to draw as a child. She took art lessons at Howard University, tthen moved to New York City in 1935 to attend Hunter College. There she studied art composition, design and lithography. Next, Jefferson transferred to Columbia University to study graphic arts and printing practices. Her education provided her with a foundation for merging her unique artistic style with cartography to form the ultimate story map - long before computers or other electronic visual aids were available.
Louise E Jefferson, 1908-2002.
Jefferson created most of her cartographic masterpieces in the 1930s and 1940s. She was one of the first female African American cartographers and a founding member of the Harlem Artists Guild.
Jefferson designed posters for the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) in New York City and freelanced for Friendship Press - eventually becoming its artistic director in 1942. Jefferson also did freelance work for Doubleday, Macmillan, and Viking, as well as the academic presses of Columbia University, Oxford University, Rutgers University and Syracuse University.
She was the first African American to hold a director's position in the publishing industry.
Jefferson retired from Friendship Press In 1960 but continued to design book jacket covers and maps for universities and publishing companies.
In retirement, Jefferson toured Africa five times and documented her travels with both illustrations and photos. She published materials from these tours in 1974, in a book titled The Decorative Arts of Africa.
As we celebrate Black History Month, let us include Louise E. Jefferson and her contributions to American history and cartography. By using her creative talents to tell the stories of marginalized groups, she reminded us of the fragility of the human condition.