Etta Hulme on the Equal Rights Amendment

The purpose of The Compass Rose is to raise awareness of Special Collections' resources and to foster the use of these resources. The blog series also reports significant new programs, initiatives, and acquisitions of Special Collections. 

The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries’ Special Collections holds the collection of long-time Fort Worth Star-Telegram editorial cartoonist, Etta Hulme, whose life and legacy we are highlighting with this blog post in honor of Women's History Month. The collection consists of over 10,000 original editorial cartoons that illustrate major events in Fort Worth, Texas, and around the world that occurred during her career at the Star-Telegram. Her first editorial cartoons appeared in the Texas Observer during the 1950s and many of her cartoons at the time focused on civil rights issues in Texas.

Equipped with a simple line drawing and sparse written commentary, Hulme concisely communicated the complex symbolism of current events during her time at the Star-Telegram from 1972-2008 and brought to light contemporary anxieties about these events from the Dallas-Fort Worth area and beyond. The items in this collection not only show the evolution of her artistic process, these materials also document her career as an artist and as an advocate for women.

Editorial cartoons can be both informational and entertaining, acting as both news sources and historical records of current events. Throughout her decades-long career at the Star-Telegram, Hulme’s work did not shy away from controversial issues; her opinion on subjects such as crime, corruption, criminal justice reform, and political scandal were often reflective of public perception and the views of North Texans.

One issue Hulme took great interest in was the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which states that the rights guaranteed by the Constitution apply equally to all persons regardless of their sex. It was introduced in Congress after the passage of the 19th Amendment which gave women the right to vote in 1920. Suffragist leader Alice Paul originally introduced the ERA in 1923. The ERA was not passed by Congress until 1972, after which it was sent to the states for ratification.

Supporters of the amendment argued that women should be on equal terms with men, while opponents of the amendment believed that the ERA would eliminate laws designed to protect women. Congress included a seven-year deadline for states to ratify the ERA, later extending the deadline to 1982. The 1982 deadline passed with the ERA falling three states short of the 38 needed for ratification. Despite the failure to ratify the ERA, Hulme continued her support by drawing cartoons and lending her voice to the cause.

Hulme was the first woman to work in the Fort Worth Star Telegram’s editorial department in 1972, one of the first women to join the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC) in 1975, and one of the first female cartoonists to have her work syndicated in 1978. She was also the first woman to win the National Cartoonists Society's Best Editorial Cartoonist Award in 1982 and serve as the first female president of the AAEC in 1986. In addition to these accolades, Hulme also received numerous awards for her work in support of women’s rights throughout her lifetime. Most notably, Hulme received:

• The Woman of the Month award in 1978 by the Fort Worth chapter of the National Organization for Women in recognition of her achievements and contributions in promoting women and the image of women as contributing members of society
• The first Media Award of the Tarrant County branch of the American Association of University Women in 1979 for her work on behalf of the Equal Rights Amendment
• The Margaret Caskey Award in 1986 by the Fort Worth Chapter of Women in Communications recognizing “an outstanding professional woman communicator who has made a significant contribution in her field”
• The Media Award in 1994 from the Fort Worth Commission on the Status of Women “as an outstanding woman of Fort Worth in acknowledgement for her outstanding achievements and contributions to the community”

The Etta Hulme Papers were processed in 2018 by Samantha Dodd, former UTA Special Collections Manuscripts Archivist. Dodd also curated and designed an exhibit showcasing Hulme’s works, titled Drawn to Politics – The Editorial Art of Etta Hulme. Digitization of over 10,000 original artworks and associated materials from the Etta Hulme Papers was completed as part of a grant-funded project awarded by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission in 2020-2021 and the digitized items accessible through the Etta Hulme Cartoon Archive website.

Bibliography

Dodd, Samantha. “Drawn to Politics: Etta Hulme’s Editorial Art Comes to UT Arlington.” Southwestern Archivist, 41, no. 3 (August 2018): 1, 14. https://societyofsouthwestarchivists.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/Newsletters/SWA2018v41no3-Aug.pdf.

Dodd, Samantha. 2018. “Drawn to Politics: The Editorial Art of Etta Hulme,” Arlington, Texas: The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries, Special Collections. Gallery guide. http://hdl.handle.net/10106/28566.

Dodd, Samantha. “Etta Hulme Papers.” Special Collections, The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries. Finding aid. https://txarchives.org/utarl/finding_aids/00228.xml.

Dodd, Samantha. “Hulme, Etta Grace Parks.” In Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/hulme-etta-grace-parks.

“Equal Rights Amendment.” Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Equal-Rights-Amendment.

Harvey, R. C. August 4, 2014. “Etta Hulme: Trailblazing with Ettatorial Cartoons.” The Comics Journal. https://www.tcj.com/etta-hulme-trailblazing-with-ettatorial-cartoons.