A Retrospective Of 1970’s Saturday Morning Animation Art Featuring Black Characters Exhibition Catalogue
Table Of Contents
Curator’s Statement
3
Historical Overview
4-‐5
Exhibi=on Review
6-‐8
In The Beginning...
9
1970‘s Black Character Timeline
10-‐12
Exhibi=on Firsts
13-‐15
Key Anima=on Studios
16-‐21
1970’s Black Anima=on Timeline
22-‐28
1970’s Black Anima=on Timeline By Category
29-‐35
1970’s Black Anima=on Fun Facts
36-‐45
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Curators Statement As a kid growing up in the 1960’s, I saw images of Blacks being beaten and tortured. I saw the aUermath of the assassina=ons of Mar=n 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 cartoons. As a pre-‐teen, I could see posi=ve Black characters that looked like me and real people that I admired, like the Jackson Five and The Harlem Globetro[ers. I was glued to the television. I couldn’t wait to see these animated characters fill the small screen. These cartoons changed my life...filling me with pride and self esteem. They brought adventure, mayhem and fun to a genera=on of Black children. FiUy years later, my perspec=ve on these cartoons is a li[le 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, racism and mul=culturalism. It is my belief that these cartoons are na=onal treasures. They are an important part of American culture, and in par=cular the Black experience. I fondly remember the decade when these revolu=onary Black cartoon characters made their mark on anima=on history. Sista ToFunky Curator -‐ The Museum Of Uncut Funk
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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 film 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 Censored Eleven, a group of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons were banned from broadcast because they were deemed to be too offensive for contemporary audiences. In the case of The Censored Eleven, racist themes were so essen=al and so completely pervasive in the cartoons that no amount of selec=ve edi=ng could ever make them acceptable for distribu=on. AUer sixty years of nega=ve cartoon images, it wasn’t un=l 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 posi=ve story lines that delivered culturally relevant messages. For the first =me, Black people like Bill Cosby and Berry Gordy led development of animated television programming featuring Black characters, from concept through to art crea=on and produc=on. For the first =me, Black children saw cartoon characters that looked, talked and acted more realis=cally like them, such as Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, as well as more posi=ve depic=ons of their favorite Black music icons and sports heroes like The Jackson 5ive, The Harlem Globetro<ers and The Adventures Of Muhammad Ali: I Am The Greatest!
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Historical Overview For the first =me, Black children had cartoon role models who taught posi=ve messages like family values, the importance of educa=on, friendship, civic duty, personal responsibility and sportsmanship. Also, for the first =me cartoons like Josie and The Pussy Cats, Star Trek and Kid Power featured strong Black female characters and mul=cultural 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 revolu'on in how Black anima=on characters were developed and portrayed in Hollywood represents historic change and the ul=mate manifesta=on of Dr. Mar=n Luther King’s dream. Not surprisingly, 50 years later, the Black Character Revolu=on genera=on would be the first to produce and elect the first Black President of the United States.
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Exhibition Review The Museum Of UnCut Funk has an impressive collec=on of oxymoronic art. Why oxymoronic? Anima=on is an art form with caricature as its founda=on. However, nearly all of the cartoons represented in this collec=on, which feature African American and African caricatures, a[empt to nego=ate the entertainment value of the characters’ designs with accuracy in depic=ng African American performance. Cartoonists considered African American music and dance a perfect fit for anima=on. However, the ar=sts chose to approximate the movements of actual entertainers instead of anima=ng their own ideas of how African Americans performed. By the 1970s African Americans had started coaching the studios on how to animate them. Before then, cartoons like Clean Pastures from Warner Brothers were common from Hollywood’s anima=on studios. Ar=sts depicted African Americans with bulging eyes and lips that took up either the bo[om third or the bo[om half of a caricature’s face. Instead of hiring the African American entertainers they caricatured like the Mills Brothers or Cab Calloway, studios hired actors and singers to mimic the vocal styles of the famous performers. To their credit, the anima=on facili=es provided work to African American voice-‐ar=sts for these imita=ons. They rarely hired European Americans for the singing and the dialogue of African American figures. Anima=on studios caricatured African American entertainers who had established popularity with European American audiences. They did not experiment with obscure ar=sts or performers who only had a following among African Americans themselves.The figures in Clean Pastures were caricatures of mainstream jazz ar=sts. 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 Globetro<ers came from the world of basketball. The Jackson Five brought the top-‐selling pop music act into anima=on. Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids presented a visualiza=on of characters from Bill Cosby’s stand-‐up comedy rou=nes. In the case of the la[er two, African Americans (Motown Recording Corpora=on and Bill Cosby)
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Exhibition Review co-‐owned the series with the cartoon studios and oversaw the depic=ons of the characters. In addi=on, Nichelle Nichols of the live-‐ac=on Star Trek lent her voice to the animated version. Muhammad Ali voiced his own caricature. Robin 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 films. To be sure, the 1970s animated films Coonskin and Hey Good Looking return to some of the visual styliza=on of the 1930s. On the other hand, African American actors perform the voices, and they star as live-‐ac=on versions of the characters they voice in live-‐ac=on segments within the movies themselves. Meanwhile, the character Valerie from Josie and the Pussy Cats was William Hanna and Joseph Barbera’s first African American female figure since the mammy of the Tom and Jerry 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 crea=vity to the na=on.i Copyright 2011 by Christopher P. Lehman. Not for cita=on or reproduc=on without permission of the author. _____________________________ i For further informa=on about African American animated caricature, read The Colored Cartoon by Christopher P. Lehman, University of Massachuse[s Press, 2007.
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Exhibition Review Christopher P. Lehman
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Christopher P. Lehman is a professor of ethnic studies at St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minnesota and has held the posi=on of Visi=ng Fellow at the Summer Ins=tute of the W.E.B. DuBois Ins=tute for African and African American Research at Harvard University. He holds a B.A. with Honors in History from Oklahoma State University, and M.A. in History from the University of Massachuse[s at Amherst, and a doctorate in Afro-‐American Studies from the University of Massachuse[s at Amherst. His book The Colored Cartoon: Black Representa=on in American Animated Short Films won a Choice Outstanding Academic Title award.
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In The Beginning... The first posi=ve Black cast of animated cartoon characters were originally created as a part of a stand up comedy rou=ne. Fat Albert and his gang first came to life as a part of Bill Cosby’s “Buck Buck,” rou=ne about a neighborhood game from his childhood, as recorded on his 1967 album 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 posi=ve Black cast animated cartoon to appear in prime=me 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 wri[en and performed by jazz pianist / keyboardist Herbie Hancock and later released on the album Fat Albert Rotunda. The special was a hybrid of live-‐ac=on and anima=on. Cosby worked with animator Ken Mundie, who directed the special. Leo 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 educa=onal, Bill Cosby and Filma=on 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-‐=tled The New Fat Albert Show and The Brown Hornet superhero segment was introduced. Fat Albert also spent another season in first-‐run syndica=on in 1984-‐1985. Three new prime=me holiday specials were also produced celebra=ng Halloween (10/24/77), Christmas (12/18/77) and Easter (4/3/82). The Fat Albert cartoon series was the third posi=ve Black Cast cartoon to air on Saturday morning, and remains the longest running Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series. The 50th anniversary of the Fat Albert cartoon series is September 9, 2022.
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1970‘s Black Character Timeline
Saturday Morning / Primetime / After School Cartoon Series - 29 • 9/9/67 -‐ Superman / Aquaman 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 Globetro[ers -‐ Hubert “Geese” Ausbie, J.C. “Gip” Gipson, Meadowlark Lemon, 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, Bucky, Dumb Donald, Fat Albert, Mushmouth, Rudy, Russell, Weird Harold • 9/9/72 -‐ Sealab 2020 -‐ Ed, Mrs. Thomas • 9/9/72 -‐ Josie And The Pussy Cats In Outer Space -‐ Valerie Brown • 9/16/72 -‐ Kid Power -‐ Diz, Nipper, Randy, Sybil • 1973 -‐ Schoolhouse Rock -‐ I Got Six -‐ Boy, Girl • 9/8/73 -‐ Star Trek -‐ Lt. Uhura • 9/8/73 -‐ Mission Magic! -‐ Franklin • 1974 -‐ Schoolhouse Rock -‐ Verb -‐ Verbman, Boy • 9/7/74 -‐ Hong Kong Phooey -‐ Hong Kong Phooey • 9/7/74 -‐ U.S. Of Archie -‐ Chuck Clayton • 9/6/75 -‐ Return Of The Planet Of The Apes -‐ Astronaut Jeff Allen • 9/10/77 -‐ I Am The Greatest: The Adventures Of Muhammad Ali -‐ Muhammad Ali, Frank Bannister, Damon, Nicky • 9/10/77 -‐ The Space Sen=nels -‐ Astrea • 9/10/77 -‐ All New Super Friends Hour -‐ Black Manta, Black Vulcan • 9/10/77 -‐ Scooby's Laff A Lympics -‐ Captain Caveman 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 Globetro[ers -‐ 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
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1970‘s Black Character Timeline
Saturday Morning / Primetime / After School Cartoon Series - 29 • 9/9/78 -‐ Fangface -‐ Kim • 11/27/78 -‐ Sesame Street -‐ Billy Jo Jive -‐ Billy Jo Jive, Smart Susie Sunset • 9/1/79 -‐ The Plas=c Man Comedy / Adventure Show -‐ Rickety Rocket -‐ Cosmo, Rickety Rocket, Splashdown, Sunstroke, Venus • 9/8/79 -‐ The New Fat Albert Show -‐ The Brown Hornet -‐ The Brown Hornet, S=nger, Tweeterbell • 9/9/79 -‐ Tarzan And The Super 7 -‐ Micro Woman, Super Stretch • 9/22/79 -‐ The Super Globetro[ers -‐ Hubert “Geese” Ausbie (Mul= Man), Nate Branch (Liquid Man), Crime Globe, Louis “Sweet Lou” Dunbar (Gizmo), Freddie “Curly” Neal (Super Sphere), James “ Twiggy” Sanders (Spaghet 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 P.S. 14 -‐ Herbie The Ice Cream Man, Geraldine Jones, Ralph The Invisible Dog, Reverend Leroy, The Devil, Clerow Wilson
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• 4/3/74 -‐ Clerow's Great Escape -‐ Herbie The Ice Cream Man, Geraldine Jones, Ralph The Invisible Dog, Reverend Leroy, The Devil, Clerow Wilson
1970‘s Black Character Timeline Cartoon Specials
Harlem Globetro5ers / The New Scooby Doo Movies -‐ 3 • 11/25/72 -‐ The Ghost 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 Haunted Island -‐ Hubert “Geese” Ausbie, J.C. “Gip” Gipson, Meadowlark Lemon, Bobby Joe Mason, Freddie “Curly” Neal, Pablo Robertson Franklin / Peanuts Specials -‐ 6 • 3/11/73 -‐ There’s No Time For Love Charlie Brown -‐ Franklin Armstrong • 11/20/73 -‐ A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving -‐ Franklin Armstrong • 1/28/75 -‐ Be My Valen=ne 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
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Exhibition Firsts • First Black Super Villain in a Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ Black Manta -‐ Superman / Aquaman Hour Of Adventure (1967) • First posi=ve Black male character in a Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ First posi=ve Black male musician character in a Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ Peter Jones -‐ The Hardy Boys (1969) • First posi=ve Black cast cartoon / Black cast cartoon special to appear on television -‐First posi=ve Black cast cartoon / Black cast cartoon special to be created from a comedy rou=ne -‐ Hey, Hey, Hey, It’s Fat Albert prime=me special -‐ Based upon Bill Cosby’s 1967 Buck, Buck comedy rou=ne from his Revenge Album (1969) • First posi=ve Black male character in a prime=me cartoon series -‐ First posi=ve Black athlete character in a prime=me cartoon series -‐ Freight Train -‐ Where’s Huddles (1970) • First posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ First posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black athletes -‐ Harlem Globetro[ers (1970) • First posi=ve Black female character in a Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ First posi=ve Black female musician character in a Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ Valerie Brown -‐ Josie And The Pussy Cats (1970) • First posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black musicians -‐ First television series produced by Motown -‐ Second posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ The Jackson 5ive (1971)
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Exhibition Firsts • Longest running posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ Third posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids (1972-‐1985) • First truly mul=cultural Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ First posi=ve Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black characters to be created from a syndicated comic strip -‐ Kid Power -‐ Based upon Morrie Turner’s Wee Pals comic strip (1972) • First posi=ve Black characters from a television series, The Flip Wilson Show, to appear as the same characters in a prime=me 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 posi=ve 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)
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Exhibition Firsts • 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 (1974) • First Black female superhero character in a Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ Astrea -‐ Space Sen=nels (1977) • First posi=ve 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 Globetro[ers -‐ The Super Globetro[ers (1979) • First =me that Black people like Bill Cosby and Berry Gordy led the development of animated television programming featuring Black characters, from concept through to art crea=on and produc=on
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Key Animation Studios Filmation Associaties From a Black anima=on perspec=ve, Filma=on studios is probably best known for producing the Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids cartoon series. Fat Albert is the longest running posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ Third posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series (1972-‐1985). However, Filma=on is also responsible for several important Saturday morning Black anima=on 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 iden=fied as being Black un=l 1977 • The Hardy Boys -‐ First posi=ve Black male character in a Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ First posi=ve Black male musician character in a Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ Peter Jones (1969) • Star Trek -‐ First posi=ve 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 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 (1974) • Space Sen=nels -‐ 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)
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Filmation also produced: • Mission: Magic! -‐ Featured Franklin, an athle=c 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 -‐ FiUh Black male superhero character, Fourth Black male superhero character to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ a parody of The Green Hornet (1979) • The Fat Albert Easter Special -‐ Fourth cartoon special (1982)
Hanna Barbera Studios Hanna Barbera Studios produced the greatest number of Saturday morning animated series featuring Black characters, and was responsible for a number of important Black anima=on firsts during the 1970's, such as: • Where’s Huddles -‐ First posi=ve Black male character in a prime=me cartoon series -‐ First posi=ve Black athlete character in a prime=me cartoon series -‐ Freight Train (1970) • Harlem Globetro[ers -‐ First posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ First posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black athletes (1970)
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• Josie And The Pussy Cats -‐ First posi=ve Black female character in a Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ First posi=ve 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 Globetro[ers -‐ First Black superhero team to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ Third Saturday morning cartoon series to feature The Harlem Globetro[ers (1979) Hanna Barbera also produced: • Sealab 2020 -‐ Second posi=ve Black male character to appear in a non-‐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 Globetro[ers / New Scooby Doo Movie -‐ The Ghost From The Deep -‐ First appearance in a Scooby Doo Movie (1972) • The Harlem Globetro[ers / New Scooby Doo Movie -‐ The Lochness Mess -‐ Second appearance in a Scooby Doo Movie (1972) • The Harlem Globetro[ers / 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)
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• Captain Caveman And The Teen Angels -‐ Leader of the Teen Angels -‐ Dee Dee Sykes -‐ First appeared on Sccoby Doo Laff A Lympics (1977) • 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 Globetro[ers -‐ Second Saturday morning cartoon series to feature the Harlem Globetro[ers (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 Anima'on Studios Campbell -‐ Silver -‐ Cosby • Hey, Hey, Hey, It’s Fat Albert -‐ First posi=ve Black cast cartoon / Black cast cartoon special to appear on television -‐ First posi=ve Black cast cartoon / Black cast cartoon special to be created from a comedy rou=ne -‐ Based upon Bill Cosby’s 1967 Buck, Buck comedy rou=ne from his Revenge Album (1969) Rankin Bass • The Jackson 5ive -‐ First posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black musicians -‐ First television series produced by Motown -‐ Second posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series (1971) • Kid Power -‐ First truly mul=cultural Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ First posi=ve 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)
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Clerow Produc'ons • Clerow Wilson And The Miracle of PS 14 -‐ First posi=ve Black characters from a television series, The Flip Wilson Show, to appear as the same characters in a prime=me cartoon special (1972) • Clerow Wilson’s Great Escape -‐ Second prime=me 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 Valen=ne 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 -‐ FiUh Franklin appearance in a Peanuts cartoon special (1976) • It’s Your First Kiss Charlie Brown -‐ Sixth Franklin appearance in a Peanuts cartoon special (1977) Depa'e-‐Freleng • Clerow Wilson And The Miracle of PS 14 -‐ First posi=ve Black characters from a television series, The Flip Wilson Show, to appear as the same characters in a prime=me cartoon special (1972) • Clerow Wilson’s Great Escape -‐ Second prime=me cartoon special to feature characters from The Flip Wilson show (1974)
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• Return To The Planet Of The Apes (1975) 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) Farmhouse Films • I Am The Greatest, The Adventures Of Muhammad Ali -‐ Second posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring a Black athlete -‐ Fourth posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series (1977) Children's Television Workshop • Billy Jo Jive -‐ First posi=ve cartoon series featuring Black characters to be created from a series of children’s books -‐ Segment aired during Sesame Street (1978) Ruby-‐Spears Produc'ons • Rickety Rocket -‐ Posi=ve Black cast segment aired during The Plas=c Man Comedy Adventure Show -‐ Featured the Far Out detec=ve agency run by four teenagers (1979) • Fangface -‐ Featured first Black and Asian character to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ Kim (1979)
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Black Character Revolu'on Exhibi'on 1970‘s Black Anima'on Timeline This 'meline reflects the introduc'on 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 posi=ve Black male character in a Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ First posi=ve Black male musician character in a Saturday morning cartoon series November 12, 1969 Fat Albert -‐ Hey, Hey, Hey, It’s Fat Albert -‐ First posi=ve Black cast cartoon / Black cast cartoon special to appear on television -‐ First posi=ve Black cast cartoon / Black cast cartoon special to be created from a comedy rou=ne July 1, 1970 Freight Train -‐ Where’s Huddles -‐ First posi=ve Black male character in a prime=me cartoon series -‐ First posi=ve Black athlete character in a prime=me cartoon series September 12, 1970 Harlem Globetro[ers -‐ First posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ First posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black athletes
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Valerie Brown -‐ Josie And The Pussy Cats -‐ First posi=ve Black female character in a Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ First posi=ve Black female musician character in a Saturday morning cartoon series September 11, 1971 The Jackson 5ive -‐ First posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black musicians -‐ First television series produced by Motown -‐ Second posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series September 9, 1972 Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids -‐ Longest running posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ Third posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series Ed -‐ Sealab 2020 -‐ Second posi=ve 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 Diz, Nipper, Randy, Sybil -‐ Kid Power -‐ First truly mul=cultural Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ First posi=ve 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 posi=ve Black characters from a television series, The Flip Wilson Show, to appear as the same characters in a prime=me cartoon special
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November 25, 1972 Harlem Globetro[ers -‐ The New Scooby Doo Movies -‐ The Ghost From The Deep -‐ First appearance in a Scooby Doo Movie December 22, 1972 Harlem Globetro[ers -‐ The New Scooby Doo Movies -‐ The Lochness Mess -‐ Second appearance in a Scooby Doo Movie 1973 I Got Six -‐ Schoolhouse Rock -‐ Part of the Mul=plica=on Rock series -‐ First Schoolhouse Rock episode to feature Black characters 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 posi=ve Black character from a television series to appear as the same character in a Saturday morning cartoon series Franklin -‐ Mission: Magic! -‐ Featured Franklin, an athle=c Black teen Harlem Globetro[ers -‐ The New Scooby Doo Movies -‐ The Mystery Of Haunted Island -‐ Third appearance in a Scooby Doo Movie
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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 April 3, 1974 Clerow Wilson -‐ Clerow Wilson’s Great Escape -‐ Second prime=me 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 mul=cultural cast, used mar=al 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 Valen=ne 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
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March 16, 1976 Franklin Armstrong -‐ Peanuts -‐ It’s Arbor Day Charlie Brown -‐ FiUh appearance in a Peanuts cartoon special September 10, 1977 Muhammad Ali -‐ I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali -‐ Second posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series to feature a Black athlete -‐ Fourth posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series Astrea -‐ The Space Sen=nels -‐ 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
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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 Globetro[ers -‐ Second Saturday morning cartoon series to feature the Harlem Globetro[ers -‐ The Harlem Globetro[ers 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 figh=ng ace, prepubescent Black detec=ve -‐ First posi=ve cartoon series featuring Black characters to be created from a series of children’s books -‐ Segment aired through the early 1980’s September 8, 1979 The Brown Hornet -‐ The New Fat Albert Show -‐ Fourth Black male superhero to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ FiUh Black male superhero character -‐ a parody of The Green Hornet
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Rickety Rocket -‐ The Plas=c Man Comedy / Adventure Show -‐ Posi=ve Black cast segment that aired during The Plas=c Man Comedy / Adventure Show -‐ Featured the Far Out detec=ve 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 Globetro[ers -‐ First Black superhero team to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ Third Saturday morning cartoon series to feature The Harlem Globetro[ers 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
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Black Character Revolu'on Exhibi'on 1970‘s Black Anima'on Timeline By Category This 'meline reflects the introduc'on 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 posi=ve Black cast cartoon / Black cast cartoon special to appear on television -‐ First posi=ve Black cast cartoon / Black cast cartoon special to be adapted from a comedy rou=ne September 12, 1970 Harlem Globetro[ers -‐ First posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ First posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black athletes September 11, 1971 The Jackson 5ive -‐ First posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black musicians -‐ First television series produced by Motown -‐ Second posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series September 9, 1972 Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids -‐ Longest running posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ Third posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series
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November 12, 1972 Clerow Wilson -‐ Clerow Wilson And The Miracle Of PS 14 -‐ First posi=ve Black characters from a television series, The Flip Wilson Show, to appear as the same characters in a prime=me cartoon special April 3, 1974 Clerow Wilson -‐ Clerow Wilson’s Great Escape -‐ Second prime=me cartoon special featuring characters from The Flip Wilson show September 10, 1977 I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali -‐ Second posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring a Black athlete -‐ Fourth posi=ve 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 Globetro[ers -‐ Second Saturday morning cartoon series to feature The Harlem Globetro[ers -‐ The Harlem Globetro[ers series was re-‐run during this two hour program which also included other cartoons September 22, 1979 The Super Globetro[ers -‐ First Black superhero team to appear in a Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ Third Saturday morning cartoon series to feature The Harlem Globetro[ers
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Black Cast Cartoon Series And Segments That Aired Within Other Cartoon Series 1973 I Got Six -‐ Schoolhouse Rock -‐ Part of the Mul=plica=on 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 November 27, 1978 Billy Jo Jive -‐ Segment Aired During Sesame Street -‐ Self-‐described super crime figh=ng ace, prepubescent Black detec=ve -‐ First posi=ve 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 -‐ FiUh Black male superhero character -‐ a parody of The Green Hornet Rickety Rocket -‐ Segment Aired During The Plas=c Man Comedy / Adventure Show -‐Featured the Far Out detec=ve agency run by four teenagers
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Black Characters In Mul'cultural 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 posi=ve Black male character in a Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ First posi=ve Black male musician character in a Saturday morning cartoon series September 12, 1970 Valerie Brown -‐ Josie And The Pussy Cats -‐ First posi=ve Black female character in a Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ First posi=ve Black female musician character in a Saturday morning cartoon series September 9, 1972 Ed -‐ Sealab 2020 -‐ Second posi=ve 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 mul=cultural Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ First posi=ve 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
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November 25, 1972 Harlem Globetro[ers -‐ The New Scooby Doo Movies -‐ The Ghost From The Deep -‐ First appearance in a Scooby Doo Movie December 22, 1972 Harlem Globetro[ers -‐ The New Scooby Doo Movies -‐ The Lochness Mess -‐ Second appearance in a Scooby Doo Movie September 8, 1973 Franklin -‐ Mission: Magic! -‐ Featured Franklin, an athle=c 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 posi=ve Black character from a television series to appear as the same character in a Saturday morning cartoon series Harlem Globetro[ers -‐ 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
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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 mul=cultural cast, used mar=al 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 Valen=ne 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 -‐ FiUh appearance in a Peanuts cartoon special September 10, 1977 Astrea -‐ The Space Sen=nels -‐ First Black female superhero character in a Saturday morning cartoon series Dee Dee Sykes -‐ Captain Caveman And The Teen Angles -‐ Leader of the Teen Angels -‐ First appeared on Sccoby Doo Laff A Lympics
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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 October 30, 1979 Casper’s Halloween Special -‐ Maxie’s first cartoon special appearance
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Black Character Revolu'on Exhibi'on 1970‘s Black Anima'on Fun Facts This 'meline 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) ‣ Archenemy 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 Filma=on. 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 iden=fied as Black un=l Adventure comics #452 in 1977 ‣ 40th anniversary -‐ September 9, 2007 First posi=ve Black male character in a Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ First posi=ve 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 ac=on segments of the cartoon ‣ A series of Gold Key comic books was released ‣ 40th anniversary -‐ September 6, 2009
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Freight Train -‐ Where’s Huddles -‐ First posi=ve Black male character in a prime=me cartoon series -‐ First posi=ve Black athlete character in a prime=me cartoon series (7/1/70) ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣
Cartoon about a fic=onal football team called The Rhinos Voiced by Herb Jeffries In 1971, there was a three issue Gold Key comic book that was released 40th anniversary -‐ July 1, 2010
First posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ First posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black athletes -‐ Harlem Globetro[ers (9/12/70) ‣ Meadowlark Lemon voiced by Scatman Crothers ‣ Meadowlark Lemon was the only Globetro[er 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 =me any sports team had its own network television series ‣ Appeared three =mes in The New Scooby-‐Doo Movies (1972 / 1973) ‣ In April 1972, Gold Key Comics launched a comic book adapta=on 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 box and record album, The Globetro[ers, was also produced ‣ 40th anniversary -‐ September 12, 2010 First posi=ve Black female character in a Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ First posi=ve 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 ar=st Brenda Holloway
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‣ 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 brune[e ‣ 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 posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring Black musicians -‐ First television series produced by Motown -‐ Second posi=ve 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 Mar=nez (Tito); Craig Grandy (Jackie) ‣ Directed by Robert Balser ‣ A Jackson 5ive board game was also produced ‣ 40th anniversary -‐ September 11, 2011 Longest running posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ Third posi=ve Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids (9/9/72)
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‣ Fat Albert first appeared in the Hey, Hey, Hey, It’s Fat Albert prime=me animated special on November 12,1969 on NBC. This was the first posi=ve all Black cast cartoon to appear on TV ‣ Music for this special was wri[en 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: Lou Scheimer (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 adapta=on 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 mul=cultural Saturday morning cartoon series -‐ First posi=ve 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 na=onally syndicated comic strip with a mul=cultural cast Character voices: Donald Fullilove (Diz, Randy); Michelle Johnson Murray (Sybil) 40th anniversary -‐ September 16, 2012
First posi=ve Black characters from a television series, The Flip Wilson Show, to appear as the same characters in a prime=me 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
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First Schoolhouse Rock episode to feature Black characters -‐ Part of the Mul=plica=on Rock series -‐ I Got Six (1973) ‣ Named Best Picture of 1973 by ASIF-‐East, a chapter of the Interna=onal Animated Film Associa=on ‣ Song performed by Grady Tate, a jazz drummer and singer who played with all of the jazz greats, was the drummer on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson 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 Pa[y and Marcie 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
First posi=ve 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 ‣ Ini=ally, Filma=on was only going to use the voices of William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan and Majel Barre[. Doohan and Barre[ 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
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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 ShaU and other Blaxploita=on 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 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 posi=ve 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 Sen=nels (9/10/77) ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣
Goddess of jus=ce who can morph into nearly any living animal Series originally called The Young Sen=nels, name changed mid-‐season Voiced by Dee Timberlake 40th anniversary -‐ September 10, 2017
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First posi=ve 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 figh=ng ace, a prepubescent Black detec=ve, 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 illustra=ons by his father Ted Shearer ‣ Afrocat theme was performed by Richard C. Saunders ‣ 40th anniversary -‐ November 27, 2018 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-‐shiUing, husband and wife crime-‐figh=ng team ‣ Scien=st 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 Globetro[ers -‐ The Super Globetro[ers (9/22/79) ‣ Three of the team's super-‐heroic iden==es and powers were taken from characters of the 1966 Hanna-‐Barbera cartoon The Impossibles ‣ Hubert “Geese” Ausbie (Mul= Man) -‐ Johnny Williams, Nate Branch (Liquid Man) -‐ Scatman Crothers, Crime Globe -‐ Frank Welker, Louis “Sweet Lou” Dunbar (Gizmo) -‐ Adam Wade, Freddie “Curly” Neal (Super Sphere) -‐ Stu Gilliam, James “ Twiggy” Sanders (Spaghet Man) -‐ Buster Jones ‣ 40th anniversary -‐ September 22, 2019
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Other Interes'ng 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
Franklin -‐ Mission Magic! (9/8/73) ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣
Third Black male character to appear in a non-‐Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series An “athle=c Black teen” Voiced by Lane Scheimer Cartoon featured Rick Springfield, group of kids called “ The Adventurers Club” Spinoff of The Brady Kids 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 rela=ons 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-‐exis=ng DC superhero ‣ Character was created to add more cultural diversity to the show ‣ Black Lightening, a DC character, was not u=lized 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
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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 =me slot (1980) ‣ Parody of Charlie’s Angels ‣ Voiced by Vernee Watson ‣ 40th anniversary -‐ September 10, 2017 Go-‐Go Globetro[ers (2/13/78) ‣ Second Saturday morning cartoon series to feature The Harlem Globetro[ers ‣ Harlem Globetro[ers 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, FiUh Black male superhero character ‣ Originally presented by Bill Cosby on 1970’s radio show, re-‐wri[en 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 Eagle, S=nger) ‣ 40th anniversary -‐ September 8, 2019 Rickety Rocket (9/1/79) ‣ Segment during The Plas=c Man Comedy / Adventure Show, about an ar=ficially intelligent space ship created by a group of four Black kid geniuses who run the Far Out detec=ve 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
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• Maxie -‐ Casper And The Angels (9/22/79) ‣ Second cartoon series modeled aUer 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 guardian angel ‣ 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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