Back in 1968, a new comic strip began appearing in newspapers across the U.S., breaking the color barrier on the pages of the funnies.

"Luther" was the first nationally syndicated comic strip about inner-city African-American children. It was the brainchild of the late Brumsic Brandon Jr.

Brandon Jr.'s daughter, Barbara Brandon-Croft, remembers watching him create the groundbreaking comic stip in their home on Rushmore Street in New Cassel. At age 10, Brandon-Croft began helping her dad with his illustrations in exchange for allowance.

Her father, meanwhile, gave the characters their meaning. An editorial cartoonist for several years, Brandon Jr. decided to develop "Luther" as a daily comic strip that focused on the lives of African-American children and their struggle for racial equality. He named the title character, a wide-eyed third-grader, after civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Through the strip, Brandon Jr. provided a touching, funny and often biting commentary on the perils of growing up black in America. His daughter says he knew those perils well, because he lived with them himself. "He grew up in D.C., in segregated D.C.," she says. "He went to a segregated high school... He enlisted and served in the army, a segregated army. He had some awful experiences that he would not repeat."

Drawing on his own experiences, Brandon Jr.'s comic strip brought to light the indignities of racial discrimination, along with the value of social justice. As a pioneer in the comic strip business, he paved the way for future African-American cartoonists -- among them, his own daughter.

In 1989, Barbara Brandon-Croft became the first African-American female to create an nationally syndicated comic strip. She and her late father are believed to represent the only father-daughter newspaper cartoonists in U.S. history, and she says she's very proud.