He didn't have a gimmick, like Schroder or Pig-Pen.
Umm… he was black. That was his gimmick. Don’t overthink this - Schulz didn’t put Franklin in like a “everyday kid” to see that black people were just like white people. Schulz put him in as a response to MLKs assassination in 1968 and leftists prodding him that his strip was all white and needed diversity and then didn’t do ANYTHING with the character like a typical leftist. Snoops cousin Spike has more personality!
Umm… he was black. That was his gimmick. Don’t overthink this - Schulz didn’t put Franklin in like a “everyday kid” to see that black people were just like white people. Schulz put him in as a response to MLKs assassination in 1968 and leftists prodding him that his strip was all white and needed diversity and then didn’t do ANYTHING with the character like a typical leftist. Snoops cousin Spike has more personality!