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Exhibition Catalogue Black Character Revolution Exhibition Catalogue Table of Contents

Exhibition Catalogue Black Character Revolution Exhibition Catalogue Table of Contents

Black Character Revolution

A Retrospective Of 1970’s Saturday Morning Art Featuring Black Characters

Exhibition Catalogue Black Character Revolution Exhibition Catalogue Table Of Contents

Curator’s Statement 3 Historical Overview 4-5

Exhibition Review 6-8 In The Beginning... 9 1970‘s Black Character Timeline 10-12 Exhibition Firsts 13-15

Key Animation Studios 16-21 1970’s Black Animation Timeline 22-29 1970’s Black Animation Timeline By Category 30-38

1970’s Black Animation Fun Facts 39-49

! ! 2 Black Character Revolution Exhibition Curator’s Statement

As a kid growing up in the 1960’s, I saw images of Blacks being beaten and tortured. I saw the aftermath of the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X and I couldn’t understand why people who looked like me had been treated in this manner.

Then the 1970’s arrived and brought an explosion of color to Saturday Morning . As a pre-teen, I could see positive Black characters that looked like me and real people that I admired, like the Jackson Five and The Globetrotters. I was glued to the .

I couldn’t wait to see these animated characters fill the small screen. These cartoons changed my life...filling me with and self esteem. They brought adventure, mayhem and fun to a generation of Black children.

Forty years later, my perspective on these cartoons is a little different. Besides being an integral part of Black children’s lives, these cartoons also benefited white children and the broader society as a whole. A number of these cartoons addressed issues like cultural differences, and multiculturalism. It is my belief that these cartoons are national treasures. They are an important part of American culture, and in particular the Black experience. I fondly remember the decade when these revolutionary Black characters made their mark on animation history.

Sista ToFunky Curator - The Museum Of Uncut

! ! 3 Black Character Revolution Exhibition Historical Overview

From 1900 to 1960, over 600 cartoon shorts featuring Black characters were produced by some of Hollywood’s greatest White animators and biggest studios. These film shorts portrayed Blacks in a racially derogatory and stereotypical manner as cannibals, coons, mammies and Stepin Fetchit characters with exaggerated features and ignorant dialect.

In the 1950’s, several of these racist cartoons were shown on television. As a result of the Civil Rights Movement, in the 1960’s the racial content of many of these cartoons was edited out or the cartoons were pulled from television altogether. Notably, The , a group of and cartoons were banned from broadcast because they were deemed to be too offensive for contemporary . In the case of The Censored Eleven, racist themes were so essential and so completely pervasive in the cartoons that no amount of selective editing could ever make them acceptable for distribution. After sixty years of negative cartoon images, it wasn’t until the late 1960‘s / early 1970’s that Saturday morning television cartoons started to feature image affirming Black animated characters with a modern look and positive story lines that delivered culturally relevant messages.

For the first time, Black people like and Berry Gordy led development of animated television programming featuring Black characters, from concept through to art creation and production. For the first time, Black children saw cartoon characters that looked, talked and acted more realistically like them, such as Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, as well as more positive depictions of their favorite Black music icons and sports heroes like The Jackson 5ive, The and in I Am The Greatest.

! ! 4 Black Character Revolution Exhibition Historical Overview

For the first time, Black children had cartoon role models who taught positive messages like family values, the importance of education, friendship, civic duty, personal responsibility and sportsmanship. Also, for the first time cartoons like Josie and The Pussy Cats, and Kid Power featured strong Black female characters and multicultural casts. Characters of all races lived, played and worked together as equals, which provided very different images for white children as well. This 1970‘s revolution in how Black animation characters were developed and portrayed in Hollywood represents historic change and the ultimate manifestation of Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream. Not surprisingly, 40 years later, the Black Character Revolution generation would be the first to produce and elect the first Black President of the .

! ! 5 Black Character Revolution Exhibition Exhibition Review

The Museum Of UnCut Funk has an impressive collection of oxymoronic art. Why oxymoronic? Animation is an art form with as its foundation. However, nearly all of the cartoons represented in this collection, which feature African American and African , attempt to negotiate the value of the characters’ designs with accuracy in depicting African American performance. considered African American music and dance a perfect fit for animation. However, the artists chose to approximate the movements of actual entertainers instead of animating their own ideas of how performed. By the 1970s African Americans had started coaching the studios on how to animate them.

Before then, cartoons like from Warner Brothers were from Hollywood’s animation studios. Artists depicted African Americans with bulging eyes and lips that took up either the bottom third or the bottom half of a caricature’s . Instead of hiring the African American entertainers they caricatured like the Mills Brothers or , studios hired actors and singers to mimic the vocal styles of the famous performers. To their credit, the animation facilities provided work to African American voice-artists for these imitations. They rarely hired European Americans for the singing and the dialogue of African American figures.

Animation studios caricatured African American entertainers who had established popularity with European American audiences. They did not experiment with obscure artists or performers who only had a following among African Americans themselves.The figures in Clean Pastures were caricatures of mainstream artists. Four decades later, animators drew from various forms of entertainment for their animated television series and took the most mainstream African Americans from each one. The Harlem Globetrotters came from the world of basketball. The Jackson Five brought the top- selling pop music act into animation. Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids presented a visualization of characters from Bill Cosby’s stand-up comedy routines. In the case of the latter two, African Americans (Motown Recording Corporation and Bill Cosby)

! ! 6 Black Character Revolution Exhibition Exhibition Review co-owned the series with the cartoon studios and oversaw the depictions of the characters. In addition, of the live- Star Trek lent her voice to the animated version. Muhammad Ali voiced his own caricature. Harris followed Cosby’s example by bringing his own stand-up characters to life in Bebe’s Kids.

Animators also strove for accuracy in their feature . To be sure, the 1970s animated films Coonskin and Hey Good Looking return to some of the visual stylization of the 1930s. On the other hand, African American actors perform the voices, and they star as live-action versions of the characters they voice in live-action segments within the movies themselves. Meanwhile, the character Valerie from Josie and the Pussy Cats was and ’s first African American female figure since the mammy of the cartoons they had directed two decades earlier. Valerie’s svelte figure, Afro, and standard speech contrasted sharply with the mammy’s full figure, bandanna, and “Negro dialect.”

The Museum Of UnCut Funk is preserving art that signifies the respect that European Americans had for African American performance, if not necessarily for African Americans themselves. Some animators may have enjoyed the African American entertainment they caricatured. Others may have simply wanted to capitalize on the popularity of the entertainers and have a hit cartoon. Regardless, their efforts demonstrate the cultural importance of African American creativity to the nation.i

Copyright 2011 by Christopher P. Lehman. Not for citation or reproduction without permission of the author. ______i For further information about African American animated caricature, read The Colored Cartoon by Christopher P. Lehman, University of Massachusetts Press, 2007.

! ! 7 Black Character Revolution Exhibition Exhibition Review

Christopher P. Lehman

Christopher P. Lehman is a professor of ethnic studies at St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minnesota and has held the position of Visiting Fellow at the Summer Institute of the W.E.B. DuBois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard University. He holds a B.A. with Honors in History from Oklahoma State University, and .A. in History from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and a doctorate in Afro- American Studies from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. His book The Colored Cartoon: Black Representation in American Animated Short Films won a Choice Outstanding Academic Title award.

! ! 8 Black Character Revolution Exhibition In The Beginning...

The first positive Black cast of animated cartoon characters were originally created as a part of a stand up comedy routine. Fat Albert and his gang first came to life as a part of Bill Cosby’s “Buck Buck,” routine about a neighborhood game from his childhood, as recorded on his 1967 Revenge. Cosby described Fat Albert "as the baddest Buck Buck breaker in the world."

Cosby turned his Fat Albert stories about growing up in North Philadelphia into the first positive Black cast animated cartoon to appear in primetime television. The Hey, Hey, Hey, It’s Fat Albert animated special first aired on November 12, 1969 and was re-aired twice on NBC. The music for this special was written and performed by jazz pianist / keyboardist and later released on the album Fat Albert Rotunda.

The special was a hybrid of live-action and animation. Cosby worked with animator Ken Mundie, who directed the special. Leon Sullivan, a Black animator, was one of seven animators who created the special.

When NBC refused to bring Fat Albert to Saturday mornings, because the series was too educational, Bill Cosby and Associates took the property to CBS. Totally new character images of the Fat Albert gang were created for the series.

Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, premiered on September 9, 1972 and ran for 12 years. In 1979, the series was re-titled The New Fat Albert Show and The Brown Hornet segment was introduced. Fat Albert also spent another season in first- run syndication in 1984-1985. Three new primetime holiday specials were also produced celebrating Halloween (10/24/77), Christmas (12/18/77) and Easter (4/3/82).

The Fat Albert cartoon series was the third positive Black Cast cartoon to air on Saturday morning, and remains the longest running Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series. The 40th anniversary of the Fat Albert cartoon series was September 9, 2012.

! ! 9 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Character Timeline

Saturday Morning / Primetime / After School Cartoon Series - 29

• 9/9/67 - / Hour Of Adventure - Black Manta • 9/6/69 - The Hardy Boys - Peter Jones • 7/1/70 - Where's Huddles - Freight Train • 9/12/70 - The Harlem Globetrotters - Hubert “Geese” Ausbie, J.C. “Gip” Gipson, , Bobby Joe Mason, Freddie “Curly” Neal, Pablo Robertson • 9/12/70 - Josie And The Pussy Cats - Valerie Brown • 9/11/71 - The Jackson 5ive - Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon, Michael, Tito • 9/9/72 - Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids - Bill, , Dumb Donald, Fat Albert, Mushmouth, Rudy, Russell, Weird Harold • 9/9/72 - - Ed, Mrs. Thomas • 9/9/72 - Josie And The Pussy Cats In Outer Space - Valerie Brown • 9/16/72 - Kid Power - Diz, , Randy, Sybil • 1973 - Schoolhouse Rock - I Got Six - Boy, Girl • 9/8/73 - Star Trek - Lt. Uhura • 9/8/73 - Mission Magic! - • 1974 - Schoolhouse Rock - Verb - Verbman, Boy • 9/7/74 - - Hong Kong Phooey • 9/7/74 - U.S. Of Archie - Chuck Clayton • 9/10/77 - I Am The Greatest: The Adventures Of Muhammad Ali - Muhammad Ali, Frank Bannister, Damon, Nicky • 9/10/77 - The - Astrea • 9/10/77 - All New Hour - Black Manta, Black • 9/10/77 - Scooby's Laff A Lympics - Captain And The Teen Angels - Dee Dee Sykes / Hong Kong Phooey • 9/10/77 - The New Archie / Sabrina Hour - Chuck Clayton • 2/13/78 - Go-Go Globetrotters - Hubert “Geese” Ausbie, J.C. “Gip” Gipson, Meadowlark Lemon, Bobby Joe Mason, Freddie “Curly” Neal, Pablo Robertson • 9/9/78 - All New Super Friends Hour / Challenge Of The Super Friends - Black Manta, Black Vulcan • 11/27/78 - Sesame Street - Billy Jo Jive - Billy Jo Jive, Smart Susie Sunset

! ! 10 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Character Timeline

Saturday Morning / Primetime / After School Cartoon Series - 29

• 9/1/79 - The Comedy / Adventure Show - - Cosmo, Rickety Rocket, Splashdown, Sunstroke, • 9/8/79 - The New Fat Albert Show - The Brown Hornet - The Brown Hornet, Stinger, Tweeterbell • 9/9/79 - And The Super 7 - Micro Woman, Super Stretch • 9/22/79 - The Super Globetrotters - Hubert “Geese” Ausbie (Multi Man), Nate Branch (Liquid Man), Crime Globe, Louis “Sweet Lou” Dunbar (Gizmo), Freddie “Curly” Neal (Super Sphere), James “Twiggy” Sanders (Spaghetti Man) • 9/22/79 - Casper And The Angels - Maxie

Cartoon Specials - 16

Fat Albert Specials - 4

• 11/12/69 - Hey, Hey, Hey, It's Fat Albert - Bill, Dumb Donald, Fat Albert, Nolan, Rudy, Russell, Weasel, Weird Harold • 10/24/77 - Fat Albert Halloween Special - Bill, Bucky, Dumb Donald, Fat Albert, Mushmouth, Rudy, Russell, Weird Harold • 12/18/77 - Fat Albert Christmas Special - Bill, Bucky, Dumb Donald, Fat Albert, Mushmouth, Rudy, Russell, Weird Harold • 4/3/82 - Fat Albert Easter Special - Bill, Bucky, Dumb Donald, Fat Albert, Mushmouth, Rudy, Russell, Weird Harold

Clerow Wilson (Flip Wilson) Specials - 2

• 11/12/72 - Clerow Wilson And The Miracle Of PS 14 - Herbie The Cream Man, Geraldine Jones, Ralph The Invisible Dog, Reverend Leroy, The Devil, Clerow Wilson • 4/3/74 - Clerow's Great Escape - Herbie The Ice Cream Man, Geraldine Jones, Ralph The Invisible Dog, Reverend Leroy, The Devil, Clerow Wilson

! ! 11 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Character Timeline

Cartoon Specials

Harlem Globetrotters / The New Scooby Doo Movies - 3

• 11/25/72 - The From The Deep - Hubert “Geese” Ausbie, J.C. “Gip” Gipson, Meadowlark Lemon, Bobby Joe Mason, Freddie “Curly” Neal, Pablo Robertson • 12/22/72 - The Lochness Mess - Hubert “Geese” Ausbie, J.C. “Gip” Gipson, Meadowlark Lemon, Bobby Joe Mason, Freddie “Curly” Neal, Pablo Robertson • 9/8/73 - The Mystery Of Island - Hubert “Geese” Ausbie, J.C. “Gip” Gipson, Meadowlark Lemon, Bobby Joe Mason, Freddie “Curly” Neal, Pablo Robertson

Franklin / Specials - 6

• 3/11/73 - There’s No Time For Love - Franklin Armstrong • 11/20/73 - A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving - Franklin Armstrong • 1/28/75 - Be My Valentine Charlie Brown - Franklin Armstrong • 10/28/75 - You’re A Good Sport Charlie Brown - Franklin Armstrong • 3/16/76 - It’s Arbor Day Charlie Brown - Franklin Armstrong • 10/24/77 - It’s Your First Kiss Charlie Brown - Franklin Armstrong

Casper And The Angels Specials - 1 • 10/30/79 - Casper’s Halloween Special - Maxie

! ! 12 Black Character Revolution Exhibition Exhibition Firsts

• First Black Super in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Black Manta - Superman / Aquaman Hour Of Adventure (1967)

• First positive Black male character in a Saturday morning cartoon series - First positive Black male musician character in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Peter Jones - The Hardy Boys (1969)

• First positive Black cast cartoon / Black cast cartoon special to appear on television - First positive Black cast cartoon / Black cast cartoon special to be created from a comedy routine - Hey, Hey, Hey, It’s Fat Albert primetime special - Based upon Bill Cosby’s 1967 Buck, Buck comedy routine from his Revenge Album (1969)

• First positive Black male character in a primetime cartoon series - First positive Black athlete character in a primetime cartoon series - Freight Train - Where’s Huddles (1970)

• First positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series - First positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black athletes - Harlem Globetrotters (1970)

• First positive Black female character in a Saturday morning cartoon series - First positive Black female musician character in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Valerie Brown - Josie And The Pussy Cats (1970)

• First positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black musicians - First television series produced by Motown - Second positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series - The Jackson 5ive (1971)

! ! 13 Black Character Revolution Exhibition Exhibition Firsts

•Longest running positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series - Third positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series - Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids (1972-1985)

•First truly multicultural Saturday morning cartoon series - First positive Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black characters to be created from a syndicated - Kid Power - Based upon ’s comic strip (1972)

• First positive Black characters from a television series, , to appear as the same characters in a primetime cartoon special - Clerow Wilson And The Miracle of PS 14 (1972)

•First Schoolhouse Rock episode to feature Black characters - I Got Six (1973)

•First Black character to appear in the Peanuts comic strip (introduced July 31, 1968) - First Black character to appear in a Peanuts cartoon special - Franklin Armstrong - There's No Time For Love Charlie Brown (1973)

•First positive Black character from a television series to appear as the same character in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Lt. Uhura - Star Trek (1973)

•First Black male superhero character in a cartoon - Second Schoolhouse Rock episode to feature Black characters - Verb (1974)

•First Black male superhero character in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Second Black male superhero character - Hong Kong Phooey (1974)

! ! 14 Black Character Revolution Exhibition Exhibition Firsts

•First Black male character to appear in Archie as a member of the gang - First Black male character to appear as a member of the Archie’s gang in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Chuck Clayton - U.S. Of Archie (1974)

•First Black female superhero character in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Astrea - Space Sentinels (1977)

• First positive cartoon series featuring Black characters to be created from a series of children’s books - Billy Jo Jive - Based upon Ted and John Shearer’s Billy Jo Jive book series - Aired as segment during Sesame Street (1978)

•First Black superhero duo to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series - First Black Husband and Wife superhero duo to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Micro Woman and Super Stretch - Aired as segment during Tarzan and the Super 7 (1979)

• First Black superhero team to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Third Saturday morning cartoon series to feature The Harlem Globetrotters - The Super Globetrotters (1979)

• First time that Black people like Bill Cosby and Berry Gordy led the development of animated television programming featuring Black characters, from concept through to art creation and production

! ! 15 Black Character Revolution Exhibition Key Animation Studios

Filmation Studios

From a Black animation perspective, Filmation studios is probably best known for producing the Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids cartoon series. Fat Albert is the longest running positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series - Third positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series (1972-1985).

However, Filmation is also responsible for several important Saturday morning Black animation firsts during the late 1960’s / 1970‘s:

• Superman / Aquaman Hour Of Adventure - First Black Super Villain in a Saturday Morning cartoon series - Black Manta (1967) - Black Manta made his first television appearance prior to Peter Jones in The Hardy Boys (1969). However, the Black Manta character was not identified as being Black until 1977

• The Hardy Boys - First positive Black male character in a Saturday morning cartoon series - First positive Black male musician character in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Peter Jones (1969)

• Star Trek - First positive Black character from a television series to appear as the same character in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Lt. Uhura (1973)

• U.S. Of Archie - First Black male character to appear in as a member of the gang - First Black male character to appear as a member of the Archie’s gang in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Chuck Clayton (1974)

• Space Sentinels - First Black female superhero character in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Astrea (1977)

• Micro Woman and Super Stretch - First Black superhero duo to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series - First Black Husband and Wife superhero duo to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Aired as segment during Tarzan and the Super 7 (1979)

! ! 16 Black Character Revolution Exhibition Key Animation Studios

Filmation also produced:

• Mission: Magic! - Featured Franklin, an athletic Black teen (1973)

• The Fat Albert Halloween Special - Second cartoon special (1977)

• The Fat Albert Christmas Special - Third cartoon special (1977)

• The New Archie / Sabrina Hour - Second Chuck Clayton Saturday morning cartoon series appearance (1977)

• The New Fat Albert Show - The Brown Hornet - Fifth Black male superhero character, Fourth Black male superhero character to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series - a parody of The (1979)

• The Fat Albert Easter Special - Fourth cartoon special (1982)

Hanna Barbera Studios

Hanna Barbera Studios produced the greatest number of Saturday morning featuring Black characters, and was responsible for a number of important Black animation firsts during the 1970's, such as:

• Where’s Huddles - First positive Black male character in a primetime cartoon series - First positive Black athlete character in a primetime cartoon series - Freight Train (1970)

• Harlem Globetrotters - First positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series - First positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black athletes (1970)

! ! 17 Black Character Revolution Exhibition Key Animation Studios

• Josie And The Pussy Cats - First positive Black female character in a Saturday morning cartoon series - First positive Black female musician character in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Valerie Brown (1970)

• Hong Kong Phooey - FIrst Black superhero character to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Second Black male superhero character (1974)

• The Super Globetrotters - First Black superhero team to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Third Saturday morning cartoon series to feature The Harlem Globetrotters (1979)

Hanna Barbera also produced:

• Sealab 2020 - Second positive Black male character to appear in a -Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series - Ed (1972)

• Josie And The Pussy Cats In Outer Space - Second Valerie Brown Saturday morning cartoon series appearance (1972)

• The Harlem Globetrotters / New Scooby Doo Movie - The Ghost From The Deep - in a Scooby Doo Movie (1972)

• The Harlem Globetrotters / New Scooby Doo Movie - The Lochness Mess - Second appearance in a Scooby Doo Movie (1972)

• The Harlem Globetrotters / New Scooby Doo Movie - The Mystery Of Haunted Island - Third appearance in a Scooby Doo Movie (1973)

• All New Super Friends Hour - Black Manta, Black Vulcan - Second Black Manta Saturday morning cartoon series appearance - Black Vulcan is second Black male superhero character to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series, Third Black male superhero character (1977)

• Captain Caveman And The Teen Angels - Leader of the Teen Angels - Dee Dee Sykes - First appeared on Sccoby Doo Laff A Lympics (1977)

! ! 18 Black Character Revolution Exhibition Key Animation Studios

• All New Super Friends Hour / Challenge Of The Super Friends - Black Manta, Black Vulcan - Third Black Manta Saturday morning cartoon series appearance - Second Black Vulcan Saturday morning cartoon series appearance (1978)

• Go Go Globetrotters - Second Saturday morning cartoon series to feature the Harlem Globetrotters (1978)

• Casper And The Angels - Featured Motorcycle Space Patrol Officer Maxie from the year 2179 (1979)

• Casper’s Halloween Special - Maxie’s first cartoon special appearance (1979)

Other Key Animation Studios

Campbell - Silver - Cosby

• Hey, Hey, Hey, It’s Fat Albert - First positive Black cast cartoon / Black cast cartoon special to appear on television - First positive Black cast cartoon / Black cast cartoon special to be created from a comedy routine - Based upon Bill Cosby’s 1967 Buck, Buck comedy routine from his Revenge Album (1969)

Rankin Bass

• The Jackson 5ive - First positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black musicians - First television series produced by Motown - Second positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series (1971)

• Kid Power - First truly multicultural Saturday morning cartoon series - First positive Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black characters to be created from a syndicated comic strip - Based upon Morrie Turner’s Wee Pals comic strip (1972)

! ! 19 Black Character Revolution Exhibition Key Animation Studios

Clerow Productions

• Clerow Wilson And The Miracle of PS 14 - First positive Black characters from a television series, The Flip Wilson Show, to appear as the same characters in a primetime cartoon special (1972)

• Clerow Wilson’s Great Escape - Second primetime cartoon special to feature characters from The Flip Wilson show (1974)

Charles Schultz

• Peanuts - Franklin Armstrong - First Black character to appear in the Peanuts comic strip (introduced July 31, 1968) - First Black character to appear in a Peanuts cartoon special - There’s No Time For Love Charlie Brown (1973)

• A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving - Second Franklin appearance in a Peanuts cartoon special (1973)

• Be My Valentine Charlie Brown - Third Franklin appearance in a Peanuts cartoon special (1975)

• You’re A Good Sport Charlie Brown - Fourth Franklin appearance in a Peanuts cartoon special (1975)

• It’s Arbor Day Charlie Brown - Fifth Franklin appearance in a Peanuts cartoon special (1976)

• It’s Your First Kiss Charlie Brown - Sixth Franklin appearance in a Peanuts cartoon special (1977)

Schoolhouse Rock

• First Schoolhouse Rock episode to feature Black characters - I Got Six (1973)

• First Black male superhero character in a cartoon - Second Schoolhouse Rock episode to feature Black characters - Verb (1974)

! ! 20 Black Character Revolution Exhibition Key Animation Studios

Farmhouse Films

• I Am The Greatest, The Adventures Of Muhammad Ali - Second positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring a Black athlete - Fourth positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series (1977)

Children's Television Workshop

• Billy Jo Jive - First positive cartoon series featuring Black characters to be created from a series of children’s books - Segment aired during Sesame Street (1978)

Ruby Spears

• Rickety Rocket - Positive Black cast segment aired during The Plastic Man Comedy Adventure Show - Featured the Far Out detective agency run by four teenagers (1979)

! ! 21 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Timeline

This timeline reflects the introduction chronology of Saturday morning cartoon series and cartoon specials that featured Black characters during the late 1960‘s / 1970’s.

September 9, 1967

Black Manta - Superman / Aquaman Hour Of Adventure - First Black Super Villain in a Saturday Morning cartoon series

September 6, 1969

Peter Jones - The Hardy Boys - First positive Black male character in a Saturday morning cartoon series - First positive Black male musician character in a Saturday morning cartoon series

November 12, 1969

Fat Albert - Hey, Hey, Hey, It’s Fat Albert - First positive Black cast cartoon / Black cast cartoon special to appear on television - First positive Black cast cartoon / Black cast cartoon special to be created from a comedy routine

July 1, 1970

Freight Train - Where’s Huddles - First positive Black male character in a primetime cartoon series - First positive Black athlete character in a primetime cartoon series

! ! 22 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Timeline

September 12, 1970

Harlem Globetrotters - First positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series - First positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black athletes

Valerie Brown - Josie And The Pussy Cats - First positive Black female character in a Saturday morning cartoon series - First positive Black female musician character in a Saturday morning cartoon series

September 11, 1971

The Jackson 5ive - First positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black musicians - First television series produced by Motown - Second positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series

September 9, 1972

Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids - Longest running positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series - Third positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series

Ed - Sealab 2020 - Second positive Black male character in a non-Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series - Played an “oceanaut” in the underwater adventure

Valerie Brown - Josie And The Pussy Cats In Outer Space - Second Valerie Brown Saturday morning cartoon series appearance

! ! 23 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Timeline

September 16, 1972

Diz, Nipper, Randy, Sybil - Kid Power - First truly multicultural Saturday morning cartoon series - First positive Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black characters to be created from a syndicated comic strip - Characters were members of the Rainbow Club - Based upon Morrie Turner’s Wee Pals comic strip series

November 12, 1972

Clerow Wilson - Clerow Wilson And The Miracle Of PS 14 - First positive Black characters from a television series, The Flip Wilson Show, to appear as the same characters in a primetime cartoon special

November 25, 1972

Harlem Globetrotters - The New Scooby Doo Movies - The Ghost From The Deep - First appearance in a Scooby Doo Movie

December 22, 1972

Harlem Globetrotters - The New Scooby Doo Movies - The Lochness Mess - Second appearance in a Scooby Doo Movie

1973

I Got Six - Schoolhouse Rock - Part of the Multiplication Rock series - First Schoolhouse Rock episode to feature Black characters

! ! 24 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Timeline

March 11, 1973

Franklin Armstrong - Peanuts - There’s No Time For Love Charlie Brown - First Black character to appear in the Peanuts comic strip (introduced July 31, 1968) - First Black character to appear in a Peanuts cartoon special

September 8, 1973

Lt. Uhura - Star Trek - First positive Black character from a television series to appear as the same character in a Saturday morning cartoon series

Franklin - Mission: Magic! - Featured Franklin, an athletic Black teen

Harlem Globetrotters - The New Scooby Doo Movies - The Mystery Of Haunted Island - Third appearance in a Scooby Doo Movie

November 20, 1973

Franklin Armstrong - Peanuts - A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving - Second appearance in a Peanuts cartoon special

1974

Verb - Schoolhouse Rock - Part of the Grammar Rock series - First Black male superhero character in a cartoon - Second Schoolhouse Rock episode to feature Black characters

! ! 25 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Timeline

April 3, 1974

Clerow Wilson - Clerow Wilson’s Great Escape - Second primetime cartoon special to feature characters from The Flip Wilson show

September 7, 1974

Hong Kong Phooey - First Black male superhero to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Second Black male superhero character - Altar ego Penrod "Penry" Pooch headlined a multicultural cast, used to fight crime

Chuck Clayton - U.S. Of Archie - First Black male character to appear in Archie comics as a member of the gang - First Black male character to appear as a member of the Archie’s gang in a Saturday morning cartoon series

January 28, 1975

Franklin Armstrong - Peanuts - Be My Valentine Charlie Brown - Third appearance in a Peanuts cartoon special

October 28, 1975

Franklin Armstrong - Peanuts - You’re A Good Sport Charlie Brown - Fourth appearance in a Peanuts cartoon special

March 16, 1976

Franklin Armstrong - Peanuts - It’s Arbor Day Charlie Brown - Fifth appearance in a Peanuts cartoon special

! ! 26 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Timeline

September 10, 1977

Muhammad Ali - I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali - Second positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series to feature a Black athlete - Fourth positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series

Astrea - The Space Sentinels - First Black female superhero character in a Saturday morning cartoon series

Black Vulcan, Black Manta - All New Super Friends Hour - Second Black Manta Saturday morning cartoon series appearance - Black Vulcan is Second Black male superhero character to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series, Third Black male superhero character, created to add more cultural diversity to the show

Dee Dee Sykes - Captain Caveman And The Teen Angles - Leader of the Teen Angels - First appeared on Sccoby Doo Laff A Lympics

Hong Kong Phooey - Scooby Doo Laff A Lympics - Second Saturday morning cartoon series appearance, member of the Scooby Doobies

Chuck Clayton - The New Archie / Sabrina Hour - Second Saturday morning cartoon series appearance

September 24, 1977

Fat Albert and The Cosby Kids - Fat Albert Halloween Special - Second cartoon special

! ! 27 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Timeline

October 24, 1977

Franklin Armstrong - Peanuts - It’s Your First Kiss Charlie Brown - Sixth appearance in a Peanuts cartoon special

December 18, 1977

Fat Albert and The Cosby Kids - Fat Albert Christmas Special - Third cartoon special

February 13, 1978

Go-Go Globetrotters - Second Saturday morning cartoon series to feature the Harlem Globetrotters - The Harlem Globetrotters series was re-run during this two hour program which also included other cartoons

September 9, 1978

Black Vulcan, Black Manta - All New Super Friends Hour / Challenge Of The Super Friends - Second Saturday morning cartoon series appearance for Black Vulcan - Third Saturday morning cartoon series appearance for Black Manta

November 27, 1978

Billy Jo Jive - Sesame Street - Self-described super crime fighting ace, prepubescent Black detective - First positive cartoon series featuring Black characters to be created from a series of children’s books - Segment aired through the early 1980’s

! ! 28 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Timeline

September 8, 1979

The Brown Hornet - The New Fat Albert Show - Fourth Black male superhero to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Fifth Black male superhero character - a parody of The Green Hornet

Rickety Rocket - The Plastic Man Comedy / Adventure Show - Positive Black cast segment that aired during The Plastic Man Comedy / Adventure Show - Featured the Far Out detective agency run by four teenagers

September 9, 1979

Micro Woman / Super Stretch - Tarzan and the Super 7 - Chris and Christy Cross - First Black superhero duo to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series - First Black Husband and Wife superhero duo to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Aired as segment

September 22, 1979

The Super Globetrotters - First Black superhero team to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Third Saturday morning cartoon series to feature The Harlem Globetrotters

Casper And The Angels - Featured Motorcycle Space Patrol Officer Maxie from the year 2179

October 30, 1979

Casper’s Halloween Special - Maxie’s first cartoon special appearance

! ! 29 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Timeline By Category

This timeline reflects the introduction chronology of Black Cast Saturday morning cartoon series and other Saturday morning cartoon series and cartoon specials that featured Black characters during the late 1960‘s / 1970’s.

Black Cast Cartoons

November 12, 1969

Fat Albert - Hey, Hey, Hey, It’s Fat Albert - First positive Black cast cartoon / Black cast cartoon special to appear on television - First positive Black cast cartoon / Black cast cartoon special to be adapted from a comedy routine

September 12, 1970

Harlem Globetrotters - First positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series - First positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black athletes

September 11, 1971

The Jackson 5ive - First positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black musicians - First television series produced by Motown - Second positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series

September 9, 1972

Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids - Longest running positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series - Third positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series

! ! 30 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Timeline By Category

November 12, 1972

Clerow Wilson - Clerow Wilson And The Miracle Of PS 14 - First positive Black characters from a television series, The Flip Wilson Show, to appear as the same characters in a primetime cartoon special

April 3, 1974

Clerow Wilson - Clerow Wilson’s Great Escape - Second primetime cartoon special featuring characters from The Flip Wilson show

September 10, 1977

I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali - Second positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring a Black athlete - Fourth positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series

September 24, 1977

Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids - Fat Albert Halloween Special - Second cartoon special

December 18, 1977

Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids - Fat Albert Christmas Special - Third cartoon special

February 13, 1978

Go-Go Globetrotters - Second Saturday morning cartoon series to feature The Harlem Globetrotters - The Harlem Globetrotters series was re-run during this two hour program which also included other cartoons

! ! 31 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Timeline By Category

September 22, 1979

The Super Globetrotters - First Black superhero team to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Third Saturday morning cartoon series to feature The Harlem Globetrotters

Black Cast Cartoon Series And Segments That Aired Within Other Cartoon Series

1973

I Got Six - Schoolhouse Rock - Part of the Multiplication Rock series - First Schoolhouse Rock episode to feature Black characters

1974

Verb - Schoolhouse Rock - Part of the Grammar Rock series - First Black male superhero character in a cartoon - Second Schoolhouse Rock episode to feature Black characters

September 9, 1979

Micro Woman / Super Stretch - Segment Aired During Tarzan and the Super 7 - Christy and Chris Cross - First Black superhero duo to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series - First Black Husband and Wife superhero duo to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series

! ! 32 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Timeline By Category

November 27, 1978

Billy Jo Jive - Segment Aired During Sesame Street - Self-described super crime fighting ace, prepubescent Black detective - First positive cartoon series featuring Black characters to be created from a series of children’s books

September 8, 1979

The Brown Hornet - Segment Aired During The New Fat Albert Show - Fourth Black male superhero to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Fifth Black male superhero character - a parody of The Green Hornet

Rickety Rocket - Segment Aired During The Plastic Man Comedy / Adventure Show - Featured the Far Out detective agency run by four teenagers

Black Characters In Multicultural Cartoons

September 9, 1967

Black Manta - Superman / Aquaman Hour Of Adventure - First Black Super Villain in a Saturday Morning cartoon series

September 6, 1969

Peter Jones - The Hardy Boys - First positive Black male character in a Saturday morning cartoon series - First positive Black male musician character in a Saturday morning cartoon series

! ! 33 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Timeline By Category

September 12, 1970

Valerie Brown - Josie And The Pussy Cats - First positive Black female character in a Saturday morning cartoon series - First positive Black female musician character in a Saturday morning cartoon series

September 9, 1972

Ed - Sealab 2020 - Second positive Black male character in a non-Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series - Played an “oceanaut” in the underwater adventure

Valerie Brown - Josie And The Pussy Cats In Outer Space - Second Valerie Brown Saturday morning cartoon series appearance

September 16, 1972

Nipper, Randy, Diz and Sybil - Kid Power - First truly multicultural Saturday morning cartoon series - First positive Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black characters to be created from a syndicated comic strip - Characters were members of the Rainbow Club - Based upon Morrie Turner’s Wee Pals comic strip series

November 25, 1972

Harlem Globetrotters - The New Scooby Doo Movies - The Ghost From The Deep - First appearance in a Scooby Doo Movie

! ! 34 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Timeline By Category

December 22, 1972

Harlem Globetrotters - The New Scooby Doo Movies - The Lochness Mess - Second appearance in a Scooby Doo Movie

September 8, 1973

Franklin - Mission: Magic! - Featured Franklin, an athletic Black teen

March 11, 1973

Franklin Armstrong - Peanuts - There’s No Time For Love Charlie Brown First Black character to appear in the Peanuts comic strip (introduced July 31, 1968) - First Black character to appear in a Peanuts cartoon special

September 8, 1973

Lt. Uhura - Star Trek - First positive Black character from a television series to appear as the same character in a Saturday morning cartoon series

Harlem Globetrotters - The New Scooby Doo Movies - The Mystery Of Haunted Island - Third appearance in a Scooby Doo Movie

November 20, 1973

Franklin Armstrong - Peanuts - A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving - Second appearance in a Peanuts cartoon special

! ! 35 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Timeline By Category

September 7, 1974

Hong Kong Phooey - First Black male superhero to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Second Black male superhero - Altar ego Penrod "Penry" Pooch headlined a multicultural cast, used martial arts to fight crime

Chuck Clayton - U.S. Of Archie - First Black male character to appear in Archie comics as a member of the gang - First Black male character to appear as a member of the Archie’s gang in a Saturday morning cartoon series

January 28, 1975

Franklin Armstrong - Peanuts - Be My Valentine Charlie Brown - Third appearance in a Peanuts cartoon special

October 28, 1975

Franklin Armstrong - Peanuts - You’re A Good Sport Charlie Brown - Fourth appearance in a Peanuts cartoon special

March 16, 1976

Franklin Armstrong - Peanuts - It’s Arbor Day Charlie Brown - Fifth appearance in a Peanuts cartoon special

September 10, 1977

Astrea - The Space Sentinels - First Black female superhero character in a Saturday morning cartoon series

! ! 36 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Timeline By Category

Dee Dee Sykes - Captain Caveman And The Teen Angles - Leader of the Teen Angels - First appeared on Sccoby Doo Laff A Lympics

Black Manta, Black Vulcan - All New Super Friends Hour - Second Black Manta Saturday morning cartoon series appearance - Black Vulcan - Black Vulcan is Second Black male superhero character to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series, Third Black male superhero character, created to add more cultural diversity to the show

Hong Kong Phooey - Scooby Doo Laff A Lympics - Second Saturday morning cartoon series appearance, member of the Scooby Doobies

Chuck Clayton - The New Archie / Sabrina Hour - Second Saturday morning cartoon series appearance

October 24, 1977

Franklin Armstrong - Peanuts - It’s Your First Kiss Charlie Brown - Sixth appearance in a Peanuts cartoon special

September 9, 1978

Black Manta, Black Vulcan - All New Super Friends Hour / Challenge Of The Super Friends - Third Black Manta Saturday morning cartoon series appearance - Second Black Vulcan Saturday morning cartoon series appearance

September 22, 1979

Casper And The Angels - Featured Motorcycle Space Patrol Officer Maxie from the year 2179

! ! 37 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Timeline By Category

October 30, 1979

Casper’s Halloween Special - Maxie’s first cartoon special appearance

! ! 38 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Fun Facts

This timeline reflects fun facts about the cartoons that featured Black characters during the late 1960‘s / 1970’s.

First Black Super Villain in a Saturday Morning cartoon series - Black Manta - Superman / Aquaman Hour Of Adventure (9/9/67)

of Aquaman ‣ Debuted in the DC comic Aquaman #35 (September, 1967) ‣ Simultaneously appeared in the Superman / Aquaman Hour Of Adventure Saturday morning cartoon, produced by Filmation. Show Became Aquaman cartoon in 1968 ‣ Voiced by Ted Knight ‣ Subsequently appeared on the All New Super Friends Hour, September 10,1977 - September 2, 1978 on ABC, produced by Hanna Barbera ‣ Then appeared in the All New Super Friends Hour / Challenge Of The Super Friends, September 9, 1978 - December 23, 1978 on ABC, produced by Hanna Barbera ‣ Character not identified as Black until #452 in 1977 ‣ 40th anniversary - September 9, 2007

First positive Black male character in a Saturday morning cartoon series - First positive Black male musician character in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Peter Jones - The Hardy Boys (9/6/69)

‣ He was the cartoon and real life drummer in the Hardy Boys band ‣ Voiced by Byron Kane in the cartoon ‣ Played by Bob Crowder in the live action segments of the cartoon ‣ A series of Gold Key comic books was released ‣ 40th anniversary - September 6, 2009

! ! 39 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Fun Facts

Freight Train - Where’s Huddles - First positive Black male character in a primetime cartoon series - First positive Black athlete character in a primetime cartoon series (7/1/70)

‣ Cartoon about a fictional football team called The Rhinos ‣ Voiced by Herb Jeffries ‣ In 1971, there was a three issue Gold Key that was released ‣ 40th anniversary - July 1, 2010

First positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series - First positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black athletes - Harlem Globetrotters (9/12/70)

‣ Meadowlark Lemon voiced by ‣ Meadowlark Lemon was the only Globetrotter to contribute to the series ‣ Other character voices: Eddie “Rochester” Anderson (Bobby Joe Mason), Robert DoQui (Pablo Robertson), Richard Elkins (J.C. “Gip” Gipson), Stu Gilliam (Freddie “Curly” Neal), Johnny Williams (Hubert “Geese” Ausbie) ‣ Marked the first time any sports team had its own network television series ‣ Appeared three times in The New Scooby-Doo Movies (1972 / 1973) ‣ In April 1972, Gold Key Comics launched a comic book adaptation of the animated series. First comic book appearance in issue #8 of Gold Key's Hanna-Barbera Fun-In, July, 1971 ‣ Dedicated comic book series followed and lasted for 4 years and 12 issues through January, 1975 ‣ Board game, lunch and record album, The Globetrotters, was also produced ‣ 40th anniversary - September 12, 2010

! ! 40 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Fun Facts

First positive Black female character in a Saturday morning cartoon series - First positive Black female musician character in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Valerie Brown - Josie And The Pussy Cats (9/12/70)

‣ Voiced by Barbara Pariot (speaking voice) and Patrice Holloway (singing voice), sister of Motown artist Brenda Holloway ‣ Hanna-Barbera wanted to recast Patrice Holloway and portray "Josie and the Pussy Cats" as an all-white trio and alter Valerie, who was Black in the comic book, to make her white. The producer refused to recast Holloway and threatened to walk away from the project. Hanna- Barbera finally relented, kept Holloway and changed Valerie back to being Black ‣ Appeared in the Josie and the Pussy Cats comic book series from 1969 - 1982. First appeared in issue #45 in December, 1969 and on the cover of issue #46 in February, 1970. First Black character to appear in Archie comics. In the comics her name was Valerie Smith ‣ Performs back-up vocals (in the comics, cartoons), occasionally sings lead (nearly always in the TV series) for the Pussy Cats. The group's main songwriter, plays different instruments. In the comic plays bass; in the cartoon plays tambourine. In the comic book she replaced Pepper, a brunette ‣ Album was recorded in 1970 by the real life band called Josie and the Pussy Cats as a soundtrack for the cartoon series. The series has also been released on DVD ‣ Valerie also appeared in Saturday morning cartoon series spin off Josie And The Pussy Cats In Outer Space which first aired on September 9, 1972 ‣ Joise And The Pussy Cats - 40th anniversary - September 12, 2010 ‣ Josie And The Pussy Cats In Outer Space - 40th anniversary - September 9, 2012

First positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black musicians - First television series produced by Motown - Second positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series - The Jackson 5ive (9/11/71)

‣ The Jackson Five did not lend their voices to the cartoon. While Diana Ross added her voice in the debut episode, Berry Gordy’s character was voiced by an actor ‣ Other character voices: Donald Fullilove (Michael); Edmund Sylvers (Marlon); Joel Cooper (Jermaine); Mike Martinez (Tito); Craig Grandy (Jackie)

! ! 41 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Fun Facts

‣ Directed by Robert Balser ‣ A Jackson 5ive board game was also produced ‣ 40th anniversary - September 11, 2011

Longest running positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series - Third positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series - Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids (9/9/72)

‣ Fat Albert first appeared in the Hey, Hey, Hey, It’s Fat Albert primetime animated special on November 12,1969 on NBC. This was the first positive all Black cast cartoon to appear on TV ‣ Music for this special was written and performed by jazz pianist / keyboardist Herbie Hancock, released on the album Fat Albert Rotunda ‣ In the Saturday morning cartoon series, Fat Albert Jackson, Bill Cosby and Mushmouth were voiced by Bill Cosby ‣ Other character voices: (Dumb Donald); Jan Crawford (Bucky, Russell); Gerald Edwards (Weird Harold); Eric Suter (Rudy) ‣ The four Fat Albert specials are: Hey, Hey, Hey It’s Fat Albert (11/12/69); The Fat Albert Halloween Special (10/24/77); The Fat Albert Christmas Special (12/18/77); The Fat Albert Easter Special (4/3/82) ‣ Gold Key Comics created a comic book adaptation of Fat Albert which ran for 29 issues, (1974-1979) ‣ A lunch box, board game and record album were also produced ‣ 40th anniversary - September 9, 2012

First truly multicultural Saturday morning cartoon series - First positive Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black characters to be created from a syndicated comic strip - Characters were members of the Rainbow Club - Based upon Morrie Turner’s Wee Pals comic strip series - Kid Power (9/16/72)

‣ Morrie Turner’s Wee Pals comic strip series was introduced in 1965 ‣ First nationally syndicated comic strip with a multicultural cast ‣ Character voices: Donald Fullilove (Diz, Randy); Michelle Johnson Murray (Sybil) ‣ 40th anniversary - September 16, 2012

! ! 42 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Fun Facts

First positive Black characters from a television series, The Flip Wilson Show, to appear as the same characters in a primetime cartoon special - Clerow Wilson And The Miracle Of PS 14 (11/12/72)

‣ Characters: Herbie The Ice Cream Man, Geraldine Jones, Ralph The Invisible Dog, Reverend Leroy, The Devil, Clerow Wilson ‣ Second special, Clerow Wilson’s Great Escape aired in 1974 ‣ 40th anniversary - November 12, 2012

First Schoolhouse Rock episode to feature Black characters - Part of the Multiplication Rock series - I Got Six (1973)

‣ Named Best Picture of 1973 by ASIF-East, a chapter of the International Animated Film Association ‣ Song performed by Grady Tate, a jazz drummer and singer who played with all of the jazz greats, was the drummer on With for six years ‣ 40th anniversary - 2013

First Black character to appear in the Peanuts comic strip (introduced July 31, 1968) - First Black character to appear in a Peanuts cartoon special - Franklin Armstrong (3/11/73)

‣ Went to school with Peppermint and ‣ Met Charlie Brown at the beach ‣ Father was a soldier who fought in Vietnam ‣ First appeared on television in 1973 in There’s No Time For Love Charlie Brown ‣ First voiced by Todd Barbee ‣ 40th anniversary - March 11, 2013

! ! 43 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Fun Facts First positive Black character from a television series to appear as the same character in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Lt. Uhura - Star Trek (9/8/73)

‣ Voiced by Nichelle Nichols ‣ Initially, Filmation was only going to use the voices of William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan and Majel Barrett. Doohan and Barrett would also perform the voices of Sulu and Uhura ‣ Leonard Nimoy refused to sign up to lend his voice to the series unless Nichelle Nichols and George Takei were added to the cast - claiming that Sulu and Uhura were of importance as they were proof of the ethnic diversity of the 23rd century and should not be recast ‣ 40th anniversary - September 8, 2013

First Black male superhero character in a cartoon - Second Schoolhouse Rock episode to feature Black characters - Part of the Grammar Rock series - Verb (1974)

‣ Song was a parody of Shaft and other films and songs ‣ Song performed by Zachary Sanders ‣ 40th anniversary - 2014 First Black male superhero character in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Second Black male superhero character - Hong Kong Phooey (9/7/74)

‣ Voiced by Scatman Crothers ‣ Also appeared in Scooby’s Laff A Lympics in 1977 as a member of the Sccoby Doobies ‣ 40th anniversary - September 7, 2014

! ! 44 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Fun Facts

First Black male character to appear in Archie comics as a member of the gang - First Black male character to appear as a member of the Archie’s gang in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Chuck Clayton - U.S. Of Archie / The New Archie / Sabrina Hour (9/10/74)

‣ Fourth positive Black male character in a Saturday morning cartoon series ‣ Also appeared in 1977's The New Archie/Sabrina Hour ‣ First comic appearances in Pep Comics #257, Life With Archie #112, Jughead #195, ‣ First comic appearances on the cover - Archie Annual #23, Life With Archie #114 ‣ Voiced by Dal McKennon ‣ U.S. Of Archie - 40th anniversary - September 7, 2014 ‣ The New Archie / Sabrina Hour - 40th anniversary - September 10, 2017

First Black female superhero character in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Astrea - Space Sentinels (9/10/77)

‣ Goddess of who can morph into nearly any living animal ‣ Series originally called The Young Sentinels, name changed mid-season ‣ Voiced by Dee Timberlake ‣ 40th anniversary - September 10, 2017

First positive cartoon series featuring Black characters to be created from a series of children’s books - Billy Jo Jive - Sesame Street (11/27/78)

‣ Self-described super crime fighting ace, a prepubescent Black detective, appeared in animated segments through the early 1980s ‣ Billy Jo Jive and his sidekick, Smart Susie Sunset, originated in a series of five children's books by John Shearer, with illustrations by his father ‣ Afrocat theme was performed by Richard C. Saunders ‣ 40th anniversary - November 27, 2018

! ! 45 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Fun Facts

First Black superhero duo to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series - First Black Husband and Wife superhero duo to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Micro Woman and Super Stretch (9/9/79)

‣ Christy and Chris Cross were an average suburban couple that turned into a shape-shifting, husband and wife crime-fighting team ‣ Chris Cross discovered a way to change his body structure to become malleable allowing him to stretch like rubber and take virtually any shape. ‣ Christy Cross could shrink to microscopic size. ‣ Their dog Trouble tagged along on their adventures ‣ Voiced by Kim Hamilton and Ty Henderson ‣ 40th anniversary - September 9, 2019

First Black superhero team to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series - Third Saturday morning cartoon series to feature The Harlem Globetrotters - The Super Globetrotters (9/22/79)

‣ Three of the team's super-heroic identities and powers were taken from characters of the 1966 Hanna-Barbera cartoon The Impossibles ‣ Hubert “Geese” Ausbie (Multi Man) - Johnny Williams, Nate Branch (Liquid Man) - Scatman Crothers, Crime Globe - , Louis “Sweet Lou” Dunbar (Gizmo) - Adam Wade, Freddie “Curly” Neal (Super Sphere) - Stu Gilliam, James “Twiggy” Sanders (Spaghetti Man) - Jones ‣ 40th anniversary - September 22, 2019

Other Interesting Fun Facts

Ed - Sealab 2020 (9/9/72)

‣ Second Black male character to appear in a non-Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series ‣ An “oceanaut” in the underwater adventure ‣ Voiced by Ron Pinkard ‣ 40th anniversary - September 9, 2012

! ! 46 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Fun Facts

Franklin - Mission Magic! (9/8/73)

‣ Third Black male character to appear in a non-Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series ‣ An “athletic Black teen” ‣ Voiced by Lane Scheimer ‣ Cartoon featured Rick Springfield, group of kids called “The Adventurers Club” ‣ Spinoff of ‣ 40th anniversary - September 8, 2013

I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali (9/10/77)

‣ Second Saturday morning cartoon series featuring a Black athlete ‣ Muhammad Ali and his public relations agent, Frank Bannister, voiced their own characters ‣ 40th anniversary - September 10, 2017

Black Vulcan - All New Super Friends Hour / Challenge Of The Super Friends (9/10/77 / 9/9/78)

‣ Second Black male superhero to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series, Third Black male superhero character ‣ Black Vulcan was not a pre-existing DC superhero ‣ Character was created to add more cultural diversity to the show ‣ Black Lightening, a DC character, was not utilized due to rights issues ‣ Voiced by Buster Jones ‣ All New Super Friends Hour - 40th anniversary - September 10, 2017 ‣ Challenge Of The Super Friends - 40th anniversary - September 9, 2018

! ! 47 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Fun Facts

Dee Dee Sykes - Captain Caveman And The Teen Angels - Scooby’s Laff A Lympics (9/10/77)

‣ First and second seasons were originally broadcast as segments on the package shows Scooby’s All-Star Laff-A-Lympics and Scooby’s All-Stars (1977-1979) ‣ Third season received their own half-hour time slot (1980) ‣ Parody of Charlie’s Angels ‣ Voiced by Vernee Watson ‣ 40th anniversary - September 10, 2017

Go-Go Globetrotters (2/13/78)

‣ Second Saturday morning cartoon series to feature The Harlem Globetrotters ‣ Harlem Globetrotters series was re-run with other cartoons during this two hour program ‣ 40th anniversary - February 13, 2018

The Brown Hornet - The New Fat Albert Show (9/8/79)

‣ Fourth Black male superhero to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series, Fifth Black male superhero character ‣ Originally presented by Bill Cosby on 1970’s radio show, re-written as a space superhero ‣ Was a parody of The Green Hornet ‣ Fat Albert gang watched The Brown Hornet show in their clubhouse ‣ Character voices: Bill Cosby (Brown Hornet), Lou Scheimer (Legal , Stinger) ‣ 40th anniversary - September 8, 2019

! ! 48 Black Character Revolution Exhibition 1970‘s Black Animation Fun Facts

Rickety Rocket (9/1/79)

‣ Segment during The Plastic Man Comedy / Adventure Show, about an artificially intelligent space ship created by a group of four Black kid geniuses who run the Far Out detective agency and solve mysteries in the future ‣ Character voices: John Anthony Bailey (Sunstroke); Johnny Brown (Splashdown); Al Fann (Rickety Rocket); Bobby F. Ellerbee (Cosmo); Dee Timberlake (Venus) ‣ 40th anniversary - September 1, 2019

• Maxie - Casper And The Angels (9/22/79)

‣ Second cartoon series modeled after Charlie’s Angels, the first being Captain Caveman And The Teen Angels ‣ Maxie was a Motorcycle Space Patrol Officer from the year 2179 ‣ Casper was her ‣ Voiced by Diana Mc Cannon ‣ Twenty-six 15-minute segments shown as thirteen 30-minute episodes were produced, as well as one 1979 television special: Casper’s Halloween Special ‣ 40th anniversary - September 22, 2019

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