Franklin (Peanuts)



Franklin Armstrong is a character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, created by Charles M. Schulz. Introduced on July 31, 1968, Franklin was the first African-American character in the strip. He goes to school with Peppermint Patty and Marcie. In his first story arc, he met Charlie Brown when they were both at the beach. Franklin's father was a soldier fighting in Vietnam, to which Charlie Brown replied "My dad's a barber...he was in a war too, but I don't know which one." Franklin later paid Charlie Brown a visit and found some of Charlie Brown's other friends to be quite odd. His last appearance was in 1999, the year before Schulz's death.
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The first appearance of Franklin in the Peanuts comic strip from July 31, 1968.

ART & DESIGN

'Peanuts' First Black Character Franklin Turns 50

July 29, 20188:02 AM ET
Heard on Weekend Edition Sunday



Cartoonist Charles Schulz debuted his comic strip Peanuts' first black character, Franklin, on July 31, 1968.
Peanuts Worldwide LLC

Fifty years ago, Charlie Brown lost his beach ball.

It was found and returned to him by a boy named Franklin, and the two proceeded to build a sandcastle together.

The simple encounter of two boys on a beach was how cartoonist Charles Schulz introduced the first black character in his widely read comic strip, Peanuts. It was July 31, 1968 — just months after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination — and the newest member of the Peanuts gang was a big deal.

It was especially defining for a 6-year-old Robb Armstrong, author of Fearless: A Cartoonist's Guide to Life and creator of JumpStart, one of the most widely syndicated black comic strips ever.