Close Menu
TheHub.news

    Did You Know Historic Politician Joseph Rainey Was Born on This Day?

    By Shayla Farrow

    B. Simone Can’t B. a Good Friend

    By Kyla Jenée Lacey

    Adenike Adekunle’s Forti Foods Could Be a Game Changer for Nigeria

    By Cuisine Noir

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube
    X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube
    TheHub.news
    Support Our Work
    • Home
    • Our Story
      • News & Views
        • Politics
        • Injustice
        • HBCUs
        • Watch
      • Food
        • Cuisine Noir
        • soulPhoodie
      • Passport Heavy
      • Travel
      • Diaspora
      • This Day
      • Entertainment
      • History
      • Art
      • Music
    • Healthy
    • Wealthy
      1. Copper2Cotton
      2. View All

      The Time to Buy a Home is Now…Maybe!

      September 11, 2023

      Focus Your Way to Wealth

      April 14, 2023

      What You Might Learn From a $300K Net Worth

      February 6, 2023

      How I built Wealth in a Bear Market

      January 13, 2023

      Black Women’s Unemployment Rate Drops: Here’s What the Latest Report Reveals

      January 13, 2025

      What Does Toxic Positivity Look Like in Personal Finances?

      April 12, 2024

      More Than Money: Cultivate More Flow to Unlock Your Financial Potential

      September 22, 2023

      Music Mogul Akon on How to “Stay Rich”

      September 12, 2023
    • Wise
    • Business
    • Sports
      1. First and Pen
      2. View All

      Jabari Henry’s Path in Baseball Is About Home Runs and Smiles

      June 18, 2025

      Erin Golston’s Love for Wrestling Was Lost But Found Again

      June 16, 2025

      With A New Sirius XM Deal, Will It Be Too Much Stephen A. Smith?

      June 11, 2025

      Delaware St. Hires Kenya Sloan As First-ever Head Coach Of Women’s Wrestling

      June 10, 2025

      Jabari Henry’s Path in Baseball Is About Home Runs and Smiles

      June 18, 2025

      Erin Golston’s Love for Wrestling Was Lost But Found Again

      June 16, 2025

      With A New Sirius XM Deal, Will It Be Too Much Stephen A. Smith?

      June 11, 2025

      Delaware St. Hires Kenya Sloan As First-ever Head Coach Of Women’s Wrestling

      June 10, 2025
    • Tech
    • Podcasts
      1. Coach Cass
      2. More Than Money
      3. This Is Lurie Daniel Favors
      4. This is Karen Hunter
      5. Welcome to Knubia
      6. View All

      Did You Know Historic Politician Joseph Rainey Was Born on This Day?

      June 21, 2025

      B. Simone Can’t B. a Good Friend

      June 20, 2025

      7 Books by Black Authors We Can’t Wait to Read This Summer

      June 20, 2025

      Adenike Adekunle’s Forti Foods Could Be a Game Changer for Nigeria

      June 20, 2025

      Did You Know Historic Politician Joseph Rainey Was Born on This Day?

      June 21, 2025

      B. Simone Can’t B. a Good Friend

      June 20, 2025

      7 Books by Black Authors We Can’t Wait to Read This Summer

      June 20, 2025

      Adenike Adekunle’s Forti Foods Could Be a Game Changer for Nigeria

      June 20, 2025

      Did You Know Historic Politician Joseph Rainey Was Born on This Day?

      June 21, 2025

      B. Simone Can’t B. a Good Friend

      June 20, 2025

      7 Books by Black Authors We Can’t Wait to Read This Summer

      June 20, 2025

      Adenike Adekunle’s Forti Foods Could Be a Game Changer for Nigeria

      June 20, 2025

      Did You Know Historic Politician Joseph Rainey Was Born on This Day?

      June 21, 2025

      B. Simone Can’t B. a Good Friend

      June 20, 2025

      7 Books by Black Authors We Can’t Wait to Read This Summer

      June 20, 2025

      Adenike Adekunle’s Forti Foods Could Be a Game Changer for Nigeria

      June 20, 2025

      Did You Know Historic Politician Joseph Rainey Was Born on This Day?

      June 21, 2025

      B. Simone Can’t B. a Good Friend

      June 20, 2025

      7 Books by Black Authors We Can’t Wait to Read This Summer

      June 20, 2025

      Adenike Adekunle’s Forti Foods Could Be a Game Changer for Nigeria

      June 20, 2025

      “The People vs. The State: Compromise, Confront, Contain or Control?”

      May 26, 2025

      In Class with Carr: “We Have Been Believers”

      May 14, 2025

      Executive Orders vs Ancestral Orders: The Next 100 Days

      May 5, 2025

      In Class with Carr: Fighting Black, Liberation Beyond the Nation

      April 21, 2025
    TheHub.news
    Home»Injustice»Exhibit of Only Black ‘Peanuts’ Character, Franklin, Vandalized at ComicCon
    Injustice

    Exhibit of Only Black ‘Peanuts’ Character, Franklin, Vandalized at ComicCon

    By Ayara PommellsJuly 27, 202205 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link
    Image credit: Peanuts Worldwide
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link

    San Diego’s Comic-Con festival community faced a minor setback after an exhibit, honoring one of the iconic comic strip’s most loveable characters.

    Last week, to celebrate the centennial year of Charles Schulz, San Diego Comic-Con 2022 highlighted The Armstrong Project: Peanuts Worldwide– an initiative to support the work of up-and-coming Black animators. 

    At SDCC, vandals “deliberately smashed” the window of an exhibit across the street from the Convention Center. The display was initiated by Peanuts Worldwide, an organization which provides scholarship opportunities to young Black artists through donations at Howard and Hampton Universities.

    Despite the defacement, Knubia’s Chief Creative Officer, URAEUS, and the platform’s Chief Operating Officer, Carl Varnado, the founders of Black Heroes Matter, were undeterred from their mission.

    “The target wasn’t just Franklin, but a program, inspired by a Black comic strip character and a Black cartoonist, which uplifts and empowers young Black artists,” URAEUS tells TheHub.news.

    “I organized the Flash Mob and was on the scene when workers at The Armstrong Project were sweeping up the shattered glass from the vandalized window,” he shared with us. “I think there are a lot of people in this country who would see Franklin as a stain on an all-American institution, The Peanuts, particularly in a time when diversity and inclusion are viewed as negatives. His novel backstory makes him the poster child for inclusion.”

    Image Credit: SDCC

    Rather than cancel the event, a decision was made to shift the location of the meet-up to the Armstrong Project exhibit “to lend support and to make a clear statement that solidarity and creative power will always be stronger than racism and intolerance.”

    A powerful moment, considering Black Heroes Matter was birthed at the event... and the community came out in droves.

    “The Flash Mob vibe is always wonderful. It’s like a family reunion. Most of us in the Black creative space know each other, it’s not really that big a circle, unfortunately. But we’re situated in different parts of the country and world. The meet-up allows us to come together and fellowship, and to meet new folks who find us while at SDCC. It’s a chance to show our strength in numbers, both to ourselves and the others looking on,” URAEUS adds. “The Flash Mob was never intended to be at The Armstrong Project, that was just the universe and the Ancestors working their magic. We saw an issue that needed to be addressed and moved with a certain swiftness to address it in the best way we could think of,” he concludes. “Everything turned out exactly as it was meant to. It was beautiful.”

    Several industry leaders, including Prentice Penny (Emmy nominated showrunner of HBO’s “Insecure”), Carl Jones (co-creator of “The Boondocks”), Bruce Smith (creator of “The Proud Family”) and Robb Armstrong (co-founder of The Armstrong Project), showed up to support.

    Who is Franklin Armstrong?

    Franklin’s roots trace back to the letter penned to Schulz in 1968 by schoolteacher Harriet Glickman, urging the “Peanuts” creator to add an African-American character to the lineup in the wake of the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

    “I am well aware of the very long and tortuous road ahead,” Glickman wrote. “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.”

    We share this letter from our archives in memory of Ken Kelly (1928-2021) who, along with Harriet Glickman, was an advocate for the inclusion of a Black character in the Peanuts comic strip and inspired Schulz to create Franklin. Kelly passed away on 2/27 of this year. ⁠ pic.twitter.com/fB7OflpE0s

    — Charles M. Schulz Museum (@SchulzMuseum) March 18, 2021

    Schulz was moved by Glickman’s impassioned plea, and Franklin was born.

    Jaycen Wise. Adventurer. Warrior. Scholar. Immortal. Liberating stolen artifacts & returning them home. #BlackHeroesMatter
    created by Uraeus @BHMatter

    ((FREE READ)) 𝗝𝗔𝗬𝗖𝗘𝗡 𝗪𝗜𝗦𝗘. #GetWise https://t.co/QaqVRiU88V pic.twitter.com/g9Hmu61wxh

    — SuperheroesInColor (@HeroesInColor00) July 27, 2022

    A History of Controversy

    In November, the Peanuts character made headlines following a special airing of “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.”

    In the special, Snoopy and Woodstock prepare toast and popcorn as the main dish, but Franklin, the only Black character, sits by himself on one side of a Thanksgiving table. Viewers accused Schulz of racism and of intentionally separating Franklin from the rest of the gang.

    “Today this would not be acceptable,” Darnell Hunt, dean of social sciences and professor of sociology and African American studies at UCLA, told Yahoo Life at the time. “It really does speak to the need for more inclusive creators and storytellers behind the scenes who produce these images,” he adds. “That’s why it’s so important to have people in the writers’ room and in production who might be more sensitive to these issues.”

    https://twitter.com/i/status/1549498180613509121

    Schulz’s widow, Jean Schulz, denied the claims of racism to the publication.

    “The scene would not have had nothing to do with [Charles Schulz], because it was purely the animators and the directors working on it,” Jean said. “The director parcels out the scenes to the animators, and the animators who drew that scene aren’t alive anymore or we don’t know how to find them. The [controversy] first popped up a couple of years ago. I’ve probably watched the special a dozen times, and I hadn’t noticed it. But I wouldn’t notice it: It’s to be noticed now.”

    Black Heroes Matter Comic-Con Franklin Armstrong Peanuts San Diego Thehub.news
    Ayara Pommells
    • Website
    • X (Twitter)
    • Instagram

    Ayara Pommells is Managing Editor of Karen Hunter's TheHub.News and you can find her working hard behind the scenes of Karen Hunter Publishing... New releases coming soon! Ayara is also a former contributor for several publications, including TheSource.com, SoulTrain, Earmilk, OK! Nigeria, Yo! Raps, GrungeCake and NMAAM. A mother of three beautiful girls and an empath...powered by herbal tea and scented candles.

    Related Posts

    A Century Later, Tulsa Puts $105M Toward Healing From Its Most Devastating Crime

    June 5, 2025

    How a New Set of Toolkits Could Help Protect Black Disabled People From Police Violence

    June 4, 2025

    Skulls Taken by German Scientists for Colonial-era Racist Research Finally Laid to Rest After a Century

    June 2, 2025
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Recent Posts
    • Did You Know Historic Politician Joseph Rainey Was Born on This Day?
    • B. Simone Can’t B. a Good Friend
    • 7 Books by Black Authors We Can’t Wait to Read This Summer
    • Adenike Adekunle’s Forti Foods Could Be a Game Changer for Nigeria
    • Forced to Carry a Pregnancy While Brain Dead, Georgia Woman Dies After C-Section

    Feeding the Glow: Foods Your Skin Will Love

    By TheHub.news Staff

    South Sudan Proves That the NBA Got It Right With Africa

    By FirstandPen

    Tyler Perry Does Black Art, Black Artists and Himself a Disservice

    By Kyla Jenée Lacey

    A Bitter Pill in a Beautiful Bill: How New Legislation Could Harm the Hungry

    By Kaba Abdul-Fattaah

    Subscribe to Updates

    A free newsletter delivering stories that matter straight to your inbox.

    About
    About

    Celebrating US from one end of the land to the other. We record our acts, our accomplishments, our sufferings, and our temporary defeats throughout the diaspora. We bring content that is both unique and focused on showing the world our best unapologetically.

    X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube

    Did You Know Historic Politician Joseph Rainey Was Born on This Day?

    By Shayla Farrow

    B. Simone Can’t B. a Good Friend

    By Kyla Jenée Lacey

    7 Books by Black Authors We Can’t Wait to Read This Summer

    By Danielle Bennett

    Adenike Adekunle’s Forti Foods Could Be a Game Changer for Nigeria

    By Cuisine Noir

    Subscribe to Updates

    A free newsletter delivering stories that matter straight to your inbox.

    © 2025 TheHub.news A 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.