Jay Jackson (1905-1954) was a prolific artist and cartoonist whose work appeared for many years in the Black newspaper The Chicago Defender, among numerous other publications. Before he began his cartooning career, he hammered spikes for a railroad, labored in a steel mill, started a short-lived sign-painting business, and even had a brief career as an amateur boxer. In the late 1940s, Jackson moved with his family from Chicago to Los Angeles, where he resided for the remainder of his life.