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girlactionfigure · 3 years

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There is a popular quote that circulates every once in a while that reads “One person can make a difference and everyone should try.”

This individual holds a special place in my heart and also the hearts of many long-time Peace Page followers, who found this page after reading a simple story which mentioned her and which became one of the most popular posts on the Peace Page. Her name is Harriet Glickman, she is the teacher who decided to write a letter to Charles Schulz and ask him if he could create a black character on his Peanuts comic strip - that character would become Franklin, one of the first black characters in a popular comic strip. Harriet Glickman passed away Friday morning, March 27, 2020, at her home in Sherman Oaks. She was 93. Her passing was reported by a Peanuts-based website, which quoted a personal friend who said, her passing was "peaceful, in her sleep" and that the former schoolteacher had been "well prepared for this." They say representation matters, and Franklin, even though he was a fictional character, was noticed by many who did not feel they were being represented enough during those days. The original Peace Page post started: "On July 31, 1968, a young, black man was reading the newspaper when he saw something that he had never seen before. With tears in his eyes, he started running and screaming throughout the house, calling for his mom. He would show his mom, and, she would gasp, seeing something she thought she would never see in her lifetime. Throughout the nation, there were similar reactions. "What they saw was Franklin Armstrong's first appearance on the iconic comic strip "Peanuts." Although Charles Schulz deserves the accolades and credit for having the courage to create Franklin and standing by him when he started receiving racist demands to remove him, it was all started by a school teacher who decided to write a simple letter. "Harriet has a very interesting place in history," according to The LAist. "In 1968, she wrote to 'Peanuts' creator Charles Schulz asking him to do something remarkable at the time: integrate his famous comic strip." "Harriet Glickman was a white, 42-year-old suburban Los Angeles school teacher and mother raising three children when Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968," according to the Press Telegram. According to NPR, she wrote, “Since the death of Martin Luther King, 'I’ve been asking myself what I can do to help change those conditions in our society which led to the assassination and which contribute to the vast sea of misunderstanding, hate, fear and violence.'” Glickman decided to write a letter to Schulz, not knowing whether he would actually read it or even whether he would receive the letter. Glickman was especially aware of the power of comics among the young. “And my feeling at the time was that I realized that black kids and white kids never saw themselves [depicted] together in the classroom,” she said in the Washington Post. She hoped this would bring the country together and show people of color that they are not excluded from American society. At the time, Schulz, the creator of the enormously popular “Peanuts” comic strip, was already being "published in hundreds of newspapers around the United States reaching nearly 100 million readers," according to the Press Telegram. Surprisingly, Schulz did respond, but wasn't sure whether it would be right, coming from him, he didn't want to make matters worse, he felt that it may sound condescending to people of color. Glickman persisted, however, continuing her correspondence with Schulz, even having black friends write to Schulz and explain to him what it would mean to them. She told Schulz that "the gentleness of the [Peanuts would be] 'the perfect setting' for such representation," according to CBR. “I am well aware of the very long and tortuous road ahead,” she added. “I’m sure one doesn’t make radical changes in so important an institution without a lot of shock waves from syndicates, clients, etc. You have, however, a stature and reputation which can withstand a great deal.” This conversation would continue until one day, Schulz told Glickman to check her newspaper on July 31, 1968. On that date, the cartoon, as created by Schulz, shows Charlie Brown meeting a new character, named Franklin. Other than his color, Franklin was just an ordinary kid who befriends and helps Charlie Brown. In a speech at American University of Health Sciences in Signal Hill, California in 2018, talking to a group of children and adults, Glickman said, the 1960s in the United States was “a time long before any of you were born, a time when not everyone was understanding of other people, when young African Americans couldn’t go to the same beach as white children and when schools were separate.” According to the Press Telegram, the Rev. Gregory Johnson, co-founder of American University of Health Sciences who invited Glickman to the event, said he wanted her to know what a profound effect her action with Schulz had on him. “I appreciate so much what you did in improving relations. I wouldn’t be here without you,” he said. Glickman was born in Sioux City, Iowa, and lived in Chicago before moving to Southern California and a job in the Burbank School District and eventually UCLA before retiring. Glickman explained in previous interviews that her parents were "concerned about others, and the values that they instilled in us about caring for and appreciating everyone of all colors and backgrounds — this is what we knew when we were growing up, that you cared about other people . . . And so, during the years, we were very aware of the issues of racism and civil rights in this country [when] black people had to sit at the back of the bus, black people couldn’t sit in the same seats in the restaurants that you could sit . . . Every day I would see, or read, about black children trying to get into school and seeing crowds of white people standing around spitting at them or yelling at them . . . and the beatings and the dogs and the hosings and the courage of so many people in that time." Glickman, according to The LAist, said someone once commented to her that "‘It took courage [to do what she did, to make a stand].’ I said, ’No it didn’t, it didn’t take courage for me to sit in Sherman Oaks in my comfortable home with my three children and type a letter.'" "Courage," she said, "was little Ruby Bridges, the little girl who integrated a school in the south who had to come with the National Guard with people spitting at her and yelling at her and throwing things at her and the parents who drew their children out. That was courage." Because of Glickman, because of Schulz, people around the world were introduced to a little boy named Franklin, and even today, when Franklin is mentioned, fond memories are evoked, such as those like the young, black man, who with tears in his eyes, started running and screaming throughout the house because he was introduced to Franklin for the first time. Barbara Brandon-Croft, the first African American woman to have a nationally syndicated comic strip in the mainstream press, was 10 years old in 1968, said, “I remember feeling affirmed by seeing Franklin in ‘Peanuts.’ ‘There’s a little black kid! Thank goodness! We do matter.’" When the Peace Page first shared its story about Franklin's birth, one Peace Page reader commented, "I normally don't comment on Facebook but I feel compelled to now. As a black child growing up in the 70's and 80's U grew up in mostly white neighborhoods. One of the most difficult things at that time is my sense of where I belonged in the world. I didn't have anybody in my position i could relate to on TV or in the movies. Then I started reading Peanut cartoons and I met Franklin and I saw myself for once. As a character, Franklin was so important to me I named my third son after him. thank you . . . for helping me find my place." That Peace Page story has now reached 22,498,877 people, receiving 2,091,450 reactions. It has inspired an Upworthy article and has been shared all over the world, including by media companies in Australia and Italy. When the Peace Page contacted the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, California, one of the representatives said that Glickman regularly visited the museum and she was fondly called "Franklin's Mom." When she saw that Peace Page post, she commented on the Peace Page, "It's always a joy for me to share the Franklin story. I consider him my fourth child and he is very much loved." In the speech in 2018 at American University of Health Sciences, she told the audience that it still “feels like yesterday [when Franklin was introduced].” She said some things have changed, but others have not. “We still have so many problems on how we see each other,” she said in an article by the Press Telegram. She told the children: “You can make a difference in making the world a better place. When you see something that makes you feel angry or upset, don’t just complain, do something about it. And remember that we all care for each other; we’re all the same loving, caring people.” She then autographed a book introducing Franklin to Charlie Brown, “Nice to Meet You, Franklin!” and urged each youngster “to make a difference.” Thank you, Harriet Glickman, also, for making a difference and making the world a better place. [Photo courtesy of CBR]

The Jon S. Randal Peace Page

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metabronx · 5 years

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Apprentices: Next Generation

2018-12-02, Sunday - USA: The Bronx, New York –

In The Bronx, startups partner with high schools to create a new apprenticeship model for education

Our introduction to the program happened in school. For many of us this was a totally new experience and our very first job.

This summer, 40 high school students from Bronx Academy for Software Engineering (BASE) were accepted to work at MetaBronx to develop our skills as future entrepreneurs and business owners.

MetaBronx is a startup accelerator and entrepreneurship education program that helps startup companies grow by investing in them. MetaBronx works with companies such as The Glass Files which is run by CEO Sarah Poyet.

The Glass Files is a website in which you can post stories about your family through photographs, videos and other media and connect them to History. When you enter this website you can read amazing stories and see stunning photographs that have been shared about people’s families and their History. Many times you can even relate to their stories and experiences.

“I enjoy being my own boss but it’s also very difficult… What motivates me is my grandfather’s story and the fear that if we don’t learn about History, we will repeat the mistakes of the past. It’s easy to sink into hopelessness and cynicism, but the question is do we believe in progress or not? Simple as that. That’s why History is important. It is for our own future. If there is no learning about the past how will we have a positive future?” – Sarah Poyet

An illustration by BASE Junior Carlos García inspired by the characters in this Summer’s apprenticeship program.

MetaBronx and The Glass Files work together to give us new experiences and create new stories about ourselves that we can document on The Glass Files.

We have also been able to network with significant institutions that exercise lots of power such as UBS, a Swiss investment bank where we met people who work in different departments and even the COO of the company, Barry Hurewitz. While we were there we did a speed mentoring session in which we got to go around and ask the employees questions about what they do and how they got there.

UBS staff were really excited to meet us and bankers outnumbered students at this unique event.

We also went to the headquarters of the United Nations. Thanks to Juan Reyes, a senior security officer, we got an exclusive tour of the whole building. We went inside the conference rooms where world leaders talk about their issues, and we went to the garden, which is ordinarily off limits to visitors. The garden is a place where gifts given to the U.N. from other countries are displayed. It’s not everyday you see gifts from other countries like the “Sleeping Elephant” given to them by Kenya or the“Japanese Peace Bell” given to them by Japan.

BASE Sophomore Sha’nya Pereira, future leader of the world, flexes her power.

Now getting into more of what we do inside the workplace. We work in multiple groups: media production, software development, hardware, marketing, and writing.

Another artist in the group, BASE Sophomore Christian Pavia, drew artwork for the Bronx Senior Storytellers project.

The Media Production team is currently working on a project called Bronx Senior Storytellers where small groups of students go to the Mid-Bronx Senior Center and record interviews there. The seniors always welcome them with warm smiles and they always have so many stories to tell that it’s incredible. Hearing Stella Savage who was directly affected by racism, Ann DeVaughn, and how she was part of a labor union, Mary Smith and her travel from Ghana to America, and Nina Allen and how she felt about Martin Luther King Jr.’s death was inspiring; you really connect to the seniors and what they have been through.

Multiple generations of BASE students take a photo with Mary Smith, aka Mama Tech and everyone’s grandmother. Her story will be published in Families and Community on The Glass Files.

“I enjoy being an apprentice to Sarah because she’s outgoing and at the same time proper when using the editing software. She has really taught me the way of trial and error. I feel like the first 2 weeks I was gonna do nothing and I wanted to do editing. But then after the first 2 weeks I started having to work extremely hard just because it’s my passion.” – Anthony Carty

Many of us got to participate in transcribing after capturing the 2 hours of interviews we filmed with the seniors at Mid-Bronx.

The Marketing team focuses on posting stories for The Glass Files about trips, work days, and day to day experiences. They have put together a thank you letter to UBS, invitations to community members to come visit the work site on Presentation Day, and they are also posting on different social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr, and Instagram. It’s nice to use other social media platforms for education purposes and not just for fun.

Miguel Sanchez of MetaBronx, Mass Ideation and The Rize talks about how what we post on social media reflects on us as individuals.

“I’ve learned how to use different social media websites and it has helped me develop social skills and how to share information more efficiently.” – Shamar Folkes

The Writing team works on the writing aspect of different projects such as a Corporate Social Responsibility document where we acted as CEOs and had to manage a group while writing it. We also helped the Media team on transcribing footage of the seniors, and the Marketing team with posting on The Glass Files. The Writing team has also been working on assignments like writing narratives of interviews with people like Stella Savage from the Mid-Bronx Senior Home and Esmarlin Fernandez, a student from BASE, and then posting it on The Glass Files.

“The writing team has been a learning experience and has taught me many skills in the aspect of writing. The corporate social responsibility document was a big project for us. I found out that writing isn’t as easy as most people think.” – Joseph Vito

Super-apprentices who have a year or more of working at MetaBronx under their belt support Sam Clegg and the Writing team with their experience.

The Software Development team brainstormed ideas to fix bugs on The Glass Files website. The team then sends that information to the senior developers to code and fix the website based on the analysis they came up with. An example of an issue we solved is a notification error that wouldn’t let you know that you’ve been invited to a Family. Those small flaws can drastically affect your experience on the website so that is what we aim to fix.

“A challenge has been finding a way to a fix a problem… I find that the information I learned here has been useful because if I get a job in coding I can use what I learned.” – Shaheed Ganie

Juniors, Seniors and recent graduates from BASE reconvened at MetaBronx this Summer to lend a hand and share their knowledge with the new Sophomore arrivals.

The Hardware team is a small group that keeps all the computer and media equipment in good working order, and helps with fixing up the building both inside and outside. The Hardware team doesn’t have a set office space, they are based in the hallway so they can rapidly get the necessary tools and go wherever their skills are needed for everyone’s work to continue smoothly.

Their biggest projects were to configure the work site’s computer network to connect all the laptops, doing partial refurbishing of one of the local file servers, upgrading the lighting and ventilation systems in the bathrooms, and building a suspended shelf in the music studio.

“My biggest challenge was coming early, from nine to two, and another problem was our supervisor being strict – but a type of strictness that i hadn’t experienced before, more productive. I also had a problem with adjusting to a new personality.” – Edryan Canario

We have learned an immense amount during our time at MetaBronx. Being in this program has helped us develop new skills. Like any new experience, we had ups and downs. In general we were all really overwhelmed working in a new environment, working with new adults that aren’t familiar to us. This job has helped us learn what to do and expect in the real world when we’ll have to go out into the workforce. We are so lucky that we have this amazing opportunity to be involved here and to work with extraordinary people!

Takhim, valedictorian BASE ’16, currently a college student at SUNY Buffalo, was one of the first students from The Bronx to become an apprentice at MetaBronx and The Glass Files. In this photo, he troubleshoots the Wi-Fi network while CTO Philip Shearer and BASE Sophomore William Madigan do maintenance on the servers.

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Authors

Story by the Writing team: Tomi Adetunji, Joseph Vito, Christian Pavia, Esmarlin Fernandez, Edryan Canario. Media preparation by the Media production team: Anthony Carty, Jonairy Castro Audain, Ruth Mejia, managed by Alondra Flores. Event production and business development by the Marketing team: Dylan Montero-Zamora, Emely Leon, Ijay Browne, Jose Mejia, Mohammed Islam, managed by Sha’nya Pereira. Liaison between Marketing and Software teams: Shamar Folkes, Iyani Walcott. Coding and technical implementation by the Software team: Edward Yeboah, Handruliz Nova, Joshua Otto, Muhfasul Alam, Shaheed Ganie, William Susman, Yabraj Jassi, managed by Takhim Haque and Elias Gabriel. Equipment and work space made possible by the Hardware team: Abhishek Heer, Amit Dhar, Jayden Rivera, Freemen Black, William Madigan, managed by Alejandro Daniel. Special projects (the sanity team): Carlos “Slime” Garcia, Isaiah Lee, Fernando Silverio, Victor Rodriguez, Elias Alvarez. Photography by Jon Mannion and just generally everyone.

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