Charles Schulz got hate mail, and newspaper editors threatened to pull his strip "Peanuts," after he showed Charlie Brown meeting Franklin Armstrong on the beach on July 31st, 1968. All because Franklin was Black ... in fact, the first Black character in a mainstream daily comic strip.

This time on Off-Ramp, we're listening back to my 2014 interview with the two friends who made it happen: Harriet Glickman, a white teacher, and Ken Kelly, a black aerospace engineer.

Harriet died two years ago at 93, and Ken died a year ago at 92 ... and by the way, Ken has an amazing life story you'll hear about at the end of the episode.

Advisory: Ken and Harriet use old fashioned language to describe Black people. They use the polite terminology of the time, NOT the N-word, but if this is upsetting to you, you should skip this episode.

This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

(Off-Ramp theme music by Fesliyan Studios.)

Pico Boulevard, Pico Union, Pico Rivera ... they tell the story of one of the most fascinating figures in California's 19th Century history: Pio Pico, the last governor of Alta California under Mexican rule, and a revolutionary who helped make the missions forfeit their land. But at the time of his death, he couldn't afford his own grave. Off-Ramp contributor Chris Greenspon has his quintessentially Californian story.

Originally broadcast September, 2015.

Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

(Off-Ramp theme music by Fesliyan Studios.)

Joan Baez: Fifty Years of Folk; There's Gold in These Hills!; John Nabs Scam Artist!; Gold Fever; This Great Undemocracy; Meet the "Mayor of Nugget Alley"; Miki Dora, Rebel Surfer; They Animated Us; Drew Street Demolition; Music on Off-Ramp: "There's a Goldmine in the Sky"

We've Been Recognized; StoryCorps Comes to LA; Nathaniel Ayers Update; Control the Cars!; Guitar Hero; A Modest Proposal; Happy Chinese New Year; What's in an Ox?; Remembering Nils Asther; Animal Show or Performance Art?; New Gang Plan for Gangland; Coachella Complaining; Line Drives and Lipstick; Barbershop Quartets descend on Pasadena

The World Was In Color; William Shatner, the Listener; Gustavo Takes the Baton; Brace for Unemployment; Obama Vendors; Millions at the Mall; Korean BBQ Tacos?!; Tracking the Heroin Trade; Making History at the Mall; The Man Behind MoLAA; Song for Night; On the Righteous Path; Watching the L-Word is Code for I'm Gay!; The Obama Quest For A Puppy!

Busted?; Graffiti Artist or Vandal?; Graffiti Removal; Malibu Heroes; Living with your Mother-In-Law; Tuskegee Airmen celebrate Obama; Good-Bye LA; Famed Songwriter Lamont Dozier; Chip Off the Old Block; MOCA Update; Off-Ramp Music Recommendations

Bluesman John Bigham; The Ashes of Oakridge; Counting Crime; Why "Bail Out" a Healthy Bank?; A Christmas Catastrophe; Growing Up Ahmed; A Music Odyssey; Don't Call Them Hell's Angels; David Fincher on Dinner Party Download; The Play's a Thing

Meet Angel Joy Blue; A Tribute to Theme Songs; He's Alive; A Down-to-Earth Angel; Jazzing up the Classics; It's A Good Day to Be a Songwriter in L.A.; Angel Gets her Wings; Mock Me Gently; Queen of Disco in LA

A Christmas Carol Redux

LA Goes Live; Clarence McDonald: Follow My Lead; The Schlepometer, Explained; Living the High Life; 21st Amendment Rights; Hey, Cabbie!; They Built It. Will We Come?; Crunchy or Smooth?; Cafe Tacuba; Coldplay Stole My Song!; He's THE Fox