Peanuts by Charles Schulz for July 10, 1951
July 09, 1951
July 11, 1951
Transcript:
Charlie Brown, wearing his mitt, crouches behind Patty who is standing at the plate with her bat, waiting to hit the coming ball. He says,"C'mon! Throw it right in here....she can't hit it!"<BR><BR> He starts as she hits the ball with a pow.<BR><BR> He remains at the plate alone, watching her run the bases.<BR><BR> As she runs back to home, he says,"I missed you while you were away!" She smiles.<BR><BR>
Sparky always was an egalitarian. Right from the beginning he had a coeducational baseballteam with no fuss about it. Sometimes nonchalance is the best attitude.
In later years, Snoopy joins the team. The team becomes interspecies.
Unfortunately, in 1950, when Charles Schulz launched Peanuts, the newspapers would not let him have minority characters. in 1967, Sparky figured that society changed enough so that he could add more diverse characters. He had Franklin move into the neighborhood. No fanfare in the strip. The other kids accepted him just like any other new kid.
In the real world, Sparky got much love mail from people thanking him, as well as hate mail from racists too. Some newspapers in the red states dropped Peanuts.
By 1980, Peanuts reflected the makeup of America religiously, racially, and linguistically.
In the early years, the focus of the baseballgames was totally on the team with Charlie Brown, but by about 1970, Sparky created so many characters that he put the overflown on another coeducation integrated team with Peppermint Patty as the manager. A girl is the manager of the opposing team. No comments or fanfare about this. It is treated as the most natural thing in the world.