Robb Armstrong can remember the moment he found out that he was destined to become a syndicated cartoonist. At six years old, after the traumatic loss of his older brother, Billy, Armstrong found himself escaping through the pages of the Philadelphia Bulletin where he enjoyed reading the “Peanuts” comic strip by Charles M. Schulz.
He was always fascinated with the adventures of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the rest of the Peanuts gang, but on July 31, 1968, everything would change for Armstrong and millions of other Black children.
Franklin, the first Black character to appear in the comic strip, appeared on the page. It was at this moment Armstrong’s mother, Dorothy, stated that he would be able to have his strip.
Twenty years later, Armstrong would be seated in the office of Sarah Gillespie, the managing editor of United Feature Syndicate, to sign a contract for his comic strip, “Jump Start.” Gillespie also worked with Schulz on “Peanuts” and while she declined to introduce the two, she suggested to Armstrong that he send one of his cartoons to him directly.
It wouldn’t be until several months later that Armstrong was able to meet his hero, but once he stepped into the office, he noticed that Schulz placed the cartoon he sent in a frame right above his drawing table.
Amazed, Armstrong asked Schulz about why he had placed his work in such a spot.
“I said, ‘What’s that doing up there?’ He said, ‘Rob, look, Peanuts, Jumpstart, they’re the same. Your strip has great characters. Just like Peanuts. That’s the whole thing,” he said.
Celebrating the legacy of Franklin Armstrong
Armstrong visited Minnesota on Saturday to discuss the impact that the “Peanuts” character has had on him and his friendship with Schulz, the creator behind the “Peanuts” comic strip. He partook in an event at the Minnesota Historical Society (MHS) titled “Franklin: The Legacy of Peanuts’ First Black Character.”
Armstrong was joined on stage by Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Peanuts Worldwide LLC. Mellisa Menta and Emmy Award-winning director Raymond S. Persi who has worked on new “Peanuts” specials on Apple TV+ including the recently released “Welcome Home, Franklin.”
In a conversation moderated by Jacob Rorem of the MHS, the three panelists shared their perspectives on how impactful Franklin has been as a character to so many children and adults.
In the opening of the conversation, Armstrong shared the story of how Harriet Glickman, a schoolteacher, and mother, had sent several letters encouraging Schulz to introduce a Black character in his comic strip to help relieve racial tension in the country. Glickman sent her first letter just days after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. With some convincing, Franklin was born.
Years after they established a relationship, Schulz would approach Armstrong to ask for his blessing on naming Franklin after him.
“He said, ‘Have you noticed Franklin doesn’t have a last name?’ I said, ‘No, I’ve never noticed that. I thought Franklin might be his last name, actually.’ [H said] ‘No, that’s his first name. How would you feel if I gave him your last name?’” Armstrong recalled. He was so astonished with the decision that he kept it to himself for over a decade.
Initiative to support more Black artists
One approach to furthering the legacy of Franklin’s character has been to support the work of young Black artists who have expressed an interest in pursuing a career in the arts. Menta and her team at Peanuts Worldwide created the Armstrong Project four years ago to make that possible.
“It was why not support students in historically Black colleges to give them an edge up in their careers and hopefully proliferate people in the industry of animation and illustration,” Menta said.
The project created two endowments at Howard University and Hampton University to give a scholarship to two students a year and hire them as interns with the company. They also allowed them to design merchandise depicting Franklin for Target and other retailers.
New Franklin Special on Apple TV+
Persi has worked with Apple and WildBrain studios for the past four years to develop projects that harken back to the original specials and tell deeper stories about individual characters.
“These characters have a lot of depth to them and we wanted to see how far deeper we could go with them,” he said. “You can’t break these characters. They’re so strong with their personalities and who they are. They’re so human that you can really put them in many different situations that can relate to an audience.”
Persi described the special as a dissertation on friendship that explores how relationships develop in real-time and the ups and downs people can experience with one another.
In his approach to developing the project, Persi chose to work with Black artists who could help bring authenticity and a stronger voice to Franklin’s story. He and his team met with artists from across the country to help capture that depth in the character.
“I keep saying, as a director, my job is to kind of tell people what to do, but my job in this case was to listen, a lot,” Persi said. “[Because] a lot of these artists had different opinions and reactions to the script and to see how generationally, there’s different opinions about things and finding a way to speak to everybody, but still tell Franklin’s story.”
Armstrong co-wrote the special with Schulz’s son Craig and his grandson Bryan who have worked to revamp the “Peanuts” franchise on screen. Armstrong described how it was important for them to approach topics surrounding racial issues in a subtextual way. He explained how Schulz was a man aware of the times he was living in and his decision to introduce Franklin on the beach was his way of making a statement.
“In other words, you have to show things and not say things,” he said. “You have to indicate things without pointing fingers. Showing the beach scene, for example. This occurred in the original canon in Schultz’s history of the strip during a time when beaches were segregated.”
Audience reaction
Andre Dillard and Monique Wiley, a couple who share a love of “Peanuts,” stepped out of the event while expressing their excitement over the conversation.
“It was an amazing event and the way he spoke to race and how it proliferates every aspect of society, including cartoons, reminded me of how and why I loved Franklin since I was five years old,” Wiley stated.
She shared that as a teacher she often references Franklin to her students as a form of representation.
The two donned their custom Peanuts shirts and memorabilia in honor of their first date together.
“I’m Snoopy, she’s Woodstock,” Dillard said. “We started dating and I’m a Peanuts guy. She’s a Peanuts gal. I saw this and I’m like, let me get this made of our first date and our first Christmas together and also her purse.”
Kevin Stockard, an aspiring comic book artist, described how enamored he was with the “Peanuts” cartoon strip as a child. Now in his late 50s, Stockard shared his takeaway from the conversation and hearing Armstrong’s story.
“To believe in yourself and to follow your dreams and to work hard,” he said. “It takes hard work. Talent might be a gift, but it is something that can be developed.”
Support Black local news
Help amplify Black voices by donating to the MSR. Your contribution enables critical coverage of issues affecting the community and empowers authentic storytelling.