Many questions we asked will be addressed from my standpoint, through the eyes of a black woman...and a mom... who loves a good superhero story and would like to see more of the many black superheroes that exist in comics today portrayed in cartoons, TV shows, and movies so that my son will be able to enjoy them as well.
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History of Black Comic Characters & Superheroes
1940-1969:As illustrated in the educational film, Ethnic Notions, as far back as the Civil War, black people have been drawn and portrayed in many different & racially insensitive ways. The same holds true for black characters in comic books. According to a wonderful site called, The Museum of Black Superheroes:Marvel's first black superhero was named "Whitewash" (the name speaks for itself). Whitewash was a character drawn in full blackface fashion who appeared in the 1940's war comic "Young Allies"...Whitewash was portrayed as a helpless buffoon whose only purpose was to provide laughs as he fell into one dire situation to another. Full of the stereotypes you would expect to see at that time in American history, negative black comic characters were all too commonplace.
Throughout history, Marvel and DC Comics have added other black characters like Marvel's Black Panther in 1966--who was only a sidekick until 1977 when he starred as a stand-alone character. Marvel also introduced Luke Cage and DC Comics introduced Black Lightning. Peanut's comic strip creator, Charles Schultz, introduced the strip's first black character, Franklin, in 1968. The social climate at the time was one of change and bucking the status quo, which may be why more and more black characters started to show up.
According to the The Official Peanuts Website:
When Franklin first appeared in the late 60s, his noticeably darker skin set some readers in search of a political meaning. However, the remarkable becomes unremarkable when readers learn that Schulz simply introduced Franklin as another character, not a political statement.
1970 was the decade of the cartoon! Kids in America, myself included, woke up early on Saturdays to catch their favorite cartoons and live-action shows created by greats like Sid & Marty Kroftt, Bill Cosby, and Gumby Creator, Art Clokey. Bill Cosby, the famous black comedian, brought Fat Albert, a character from his stand-up routine, to life in the cartoon with the same name.
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