In the 1990s, a Chicago dad noticed something alarming: Billboards advertising cigarettes blanketed the majority-Black South Side. On the predominantly white North Side, the ads were nowhere to be found. So he did what anyone would do: He bought a cape and a top hat, and developed a superhero identity laser-focused on keeping alcohol and cigarettes out of his community's hands. For years, "Mandrake the Magician" roamed Chicago with a paint roller, a billboard vigilante who would make tobacco ads vanish. Eventually, he would inspire a national anti-smoking movement. He’d be celebrated as a hero and become a public enemy of the tobacco industry. The NAACP would actually speak out against him. Oprah would call. His secret identity would make him a legend—until a mysterious, tragic final chapter ensured that he’d never know how much he ultimately won. This masterfully reported deep dive from Slate's Josh Levin offers an urgent reminder from the past: Everyday actions do have the power to make change.
Read the full article here (no paywall!): https://slate.com/life/2026/07/chicago-superheroes-smoking-cigarettes-black-americans.html?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_content=mandrake&utm_campaign=&utm_term=&tpcc=reddit-social--mandrake-