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Discover how Charles M. Schulz and Peanuts played a pivotal role in promoting racial diversity through heartwarming characters, from Lucy to a new black child.
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Who is Charles M. Schulz (1922-2000)? From reading the funnies with his father at an early age in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Charles M. Schulz always enjoyed what comics had to offer. After having his cartoon rendition of the family dog “Sparky” printed in a nationally syndicated magazine, Schulz knew that he had found something he loved, cartooning. For the rest of his life, he gave people characters whose exploits mirrored their own experiences. People identify with Charlie Brown, with Lucy, with Linus’ Security Blanket, and with their beloved Snoopy. In short, Schulz and Peanuts gave America a needed sense of itself. From the 1920’s through the 1940’s Schulz continued to work on his skill and on October 2, 1950, his first 4 panel Peanuts strip first appeared. At 27 years old, Schulz was on the verge of becoming a nationally recognized figure.
Harriet Glick man and a letter to Charles M. Schulz Exactly 2 weeks after the assassination of MLK, Jr., Schulz receives this letter from a housewife and mother of three, Ms. Harriet Glickman. What kind of suggestion was Glickman offering Schulz? Dear Mr. Schulz, Since the death of Martin Luther King, I’ve been asking myself what I can do to help change those conditions in our society which led to the assassination and which contribute to the vast sea of misunderstanding, fear, hate and violence…I am well aware of the very long and tortuous road ahead. I believe that it will be another generation before the kind of open friendship, trust and mobility will be an accepted part of our lives…I felt that something could be done through our comic strips You need no reassurances from me that Peanuts is one of the most adored, well-read and quoted parts of our literate society…You see … we are a totally Peanuts-oriented family. It occurred to me today that the introduction of Negro children into the group of Schulz characters could happen with a minimum of impact…I’m sure one doesn’t make radical changes in so important an institution without a lot of shock waves from syndicates, clients, etc. You have, however, a stature and reputation which can withstand a great deal. Lastly; should you consider this suggestion, I hope that the result will be more than one black child… Let them be as adorable as the others … but please … allow them a Lucy! Sincerely, Harriet Glickman
Schulz’s First Letter to Glickman ~Summarize Schulz’s response to Glickman. ~Identify Schulz’s apprehension with Glickman’s suggestion ~Explain why Schulz would consider this apprehension as a valid reason for not incorporating a character of color into Peanuts. ~Predict Glickman’s response to Schulz’s letter.
Glickman’s Response (penned the next day) Define the “dilemma” Glickman refers to. Predict on whether Schulz will give his permission. Point out some reasons as to why Schulz would not give his permission and why he WOULD give his permission. Identify what is at stake for Schulz. Dear Mr. Schulz, I appreciate your taking the time to answer my letter about Negro children in Peanuts. You present an interesting dilemma. I would like your permission to use your letter to show some Negro friends. Their responses as parents may prove useful to you in your thinking on this subject. Sincerely, Harriet Glickman
Dear Mr. Schulz… From, Kenneth C. Kelly Dear Mr. Schulz: …I’d like to express an opinion as a Negro father of two young boys. You mention a fear of being patronizing. Though I doubt that any Negro would view your efforts that way, I’d like to suggest that an accusation of being patronizing would be a small price to pay for the positive results that would accrue!…The inclusion of a Negro supernumerary in some of the group scenes in Peanuts would do two important things. Firstly, it would ease my problem of having my kids seeing themselves pictured in the overall American scene. Secondly, it would suggest racial amity in a casual day-to-day sense…We have too long used Negro supernumeraries in such unhappy situations as a movie prison scene, while excluding Negro supernumeraries in quiet and normal scenes of people just living, loving, worrying, entering a hotel, the lobby of an office building, a downtown New York City street scene. There are insidious negative effects in these practices of the movie industry, TV industry, magazine publishing, and syndicated cartoons. Sincerely, KCK
Schulz’s second Letter to Glickman Infer what caused Schulz to take this step and incorporate a black child in his Peanuts comic strip. Predict the kind of strip Schulz would create for the first time with his newly created character. (draw it! write it!) Construct a map tracing the quest for racial equality by referencing Dunbar’s We Wear the Mask, Du Bois’ The Souls of Black Folk, Washington’s The Atlanta Compromise Speech, Hughes’ Harlem, Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, and all the way up to Schulz’s decision to include this new character.
Welcome Franklin Armstrong! What’s going on in these strips? How is Schulz able to subtly address race and racial issues through this 4 panel cartoon? What makes his method effective?
Responses to Franklin United Feature Syndicate, the largest comic strip syndicate service in the USA didn’t like scenes where Franklin played with the other children. Charles M. Schulz’s response to these criticisms: “I never paid any attention to those things, and I remember telling Larry [Rutman, president of United Feature] at the time about Franklin — he wanted me to change it, and we talked about it for a long while on the phone, and I finally sighed and said, “Well, Larry, let’s put it this way: Either you print it just the way I draw it or I quit. How’s that?” So that’s the way that ended. Bishop James P. Shannon, who had marched beside Martin Luther King in Selma, quoted in the Los Angeles Times as wondering if the new Peanuts character would be “a believable human being who has some evident personal failing,” versus being “a perfect little black man.” One editor even complained that Franklin should not be sharing a desk with Peppermint Patty. “We have enough trouble here in the South without you showing the kids together in school.” Others objected to the fact that Franklin’s desk was in front of Peppermint Patty’s desk.
