WINGATE — Just in time for Black History Month, Wingate University is hosting an exhibit featuring the only African American character in the Peanuts comic strip. “Franklin” opens Feb. 10 and will run through April 7 in the University’s Hinson Art Museum.
Franklin was born in 1968, after a California school teacher wrote to Schulz in the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
“Dear Mr. Schulz,” wrote Harriet Glickman that April. “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, hate, fear and violence.” She suggested that he could help promote tolerance and interracial friendship by adding a Black character to his popular comic strip.
Schulz said he had been considering the idea, and that summer Charlie Brown met Franklin at the beach. High-resolution reproductions of original comic strips from the multiday storyline of their meeting are part of the exhibit coming to Wingate, as is correspondence between Glickman and Schulz. The exhibit will also include display and text panels and character dolls and will tell the story of how Franklin got the last name Armstrong, a nod to JumpStart cartoonist Robb Armstrong.
“We celebrate the Civil Rights Era in February,” says Charlene Bregier, director of the Hinson Art Musuem. “My hope is that this piece of history brings understanding of those turbulent times.” Bregier chose the cartoon exhibit not just because February is Black History Month, but because of Wingate students’ fascination with the medium. She said students surveyed during and after Covid about what type of art they found most uplifting responded with cartooning. “This includes caricatures, anime and manga,” Bregier says. “With the rise in mental health concerns, it seemed timely to use Hinson Art Museum to bring joy and improve mental health.” In 2023, the museum hosted a professional cartoonist who gave a talk about the creative process of cartooning. Last year, the University had a caricature artist visit classes and draw portraits of students, faculty and staff. An exhibit that shined a light on the most successful comic strip of all time seemed a logical next step and one that students and professors could explore through a variety of academic lenses. “There are so many segues into this interdisciplinary exhibit: English, history, art, psychology, business,” Bregier says. She says everyone can relate to Schulz’s lovable characters and find a piece of themselves in Peanuts. Her own study of Schulz left her amazed by his devotion to his vocation. Between 1950 and 2000, he drew more than 17,000 comic strips. Peanuts was read by 355 million people and made the cover of Time magazine in 1965. Schulz became the highest-paid and most read cartoonist of all time. “Through his simple style of drawing, he turned our fears and thoughts into laughter,” Bregier says. “Through licensing deals, his characters are seen on everything from tennis shoes and sweatshirts to the Goodyear Blimp and theme parks across the globe.” The museum is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and follows the University holiday schedule. The exhibit is free and open to the public. If you have questions or would like to schedule a visit for your school class, call 704-233-6482.
