Franklin’s introduction to the world of Peanuts fastened a obvious error that had been current because the strip’s beginnings. Charles Schulz’s Peanuts has delighted followers around the globe for over 70 years, and Charlie Brown and his companions have turn into popular culture icons. For a few years, nevertheless, the Peanuts strip had one big downside, and Franklin’s arrival not solely fastened it however set a precedent nonetheless being felt right this moment.
Peanuts first appeared in 1950, and followers shortly took to Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, and the remaining. The Peanuts’ recognition in newspapers ultimately led to a sequence of unforgettable animated specials, airing by means of the subsequent a number of a long time. It’s the Nice Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown are classics of animation. Schulz wrapped the Peanuts up in 2000, and it continues in reprints to today. But from the get-go, there was one obvious mistake: there was no Black character—till Franklin got here alongside.
Franklin’s arrival was grounded in a tragic, real-world occasion: the 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King’s homicide despatched shock waves throughout the nation and in some instances led to violence. A mere 11 days after King’s dying, a Los Angeles college instructor named Harriet Glickman wrote to Schulz, asking him to create a Black character for the Peanuts strip. Schulz replied to Glickman, telling her he had needed to take action, but in addition didn’t need to be patronizing. Glickman and Schulz saved up a correspondence, and on July 31, 1968, three months after Dr. King’s dying, Franklin debuted within the Peanuts.
From there, Franklin would turn into a fixture of the Peanuts strip, sustaining an everyday presence up till its conclusion. Franklin went to a distinct college than Charlie Brown, however regardless of this, they grew to become finest pals. The 2 bonded over their fathers: Charlie’s had served in a struggle, and Franklin’s father was away preventing in Vietnam. Not solely did Franklin’s inclusion deal with the racial unrest and the push for civil rights that was encompassing the nation, but in addition gave Schulz a platform to speak in regards to the Vietnam Conflict—one other actual concern for younger individuals on the time. Franklin’s arrival signaled a brand new period for the Peanuts.
Franklin additionally started the pattern of illustration within the media. When Schulz added Franklin to the Peanuts, Black characters in popular culture had been few and much between, not to mention in comics. The Black Panther had debuted just some years prior within the Implausible 4, breaking down the door for extra Black characters. Glickman felt it necessary that Black kids see themselves within the media they devour, and Schulz agreed, creating Franklin. Illustration continues to be necessary right this moment, and whereas there may be nonetheless a number of work to be finished, progress has been made, and a few of it is because of Franklin’s inclusion within the Peanuts.