Description July 31 1968
Franklin Armstrong, the first black character in the comic strip "Peanuts " was introduced. How did this come about? Harriet Glickman, a school teacher, wrote a letter to "Peanuts " creator, Charles M. Schultz. Martin Luther King had been assassinated outside his hotel room in Memphis TN, and the country was imploding. She felt that if only the country could see youngsters of both races interacting we would realize we weren't that different. Mr. Shultz was hesitant at first, not because he didn't agree with her assessment, he just didn't want to come off as condescending. He debuted Franklin as the son of a soldier whose father was away in a place called Vietnam. Southern newspapers were willing to accept the character as long as he didn't show him attending school with white kids. The south was still trying to figure out the school desegregation issue. Of course Mr. Schultz made sure to pen a strip with Franklin and Peppermint Patty sharing classes.