‘Rasta Charlie’ controversy at Montgomery Village in Santa Rosa ends in compromise

The battle over a controversial Charles Schulz-themed statue at a Santa Rosa mall has ended in a stalemate.

Rasta Charlie, a dreadlocked, brown-skinned version of the Charles Schulz creation who has stood sentinel outside Sonoma Outfitters in Santa Rosa’s Montgomery Village for the past eight years, won’t be expelled after all. He’ll just be moving inside the store.

“He’ll go right here,” said Debra Knick, co-owner of Sonoma Outfitters, motioning to a space just inside the front doors. “We’ll slide this sale rack over, and move some of the men’s Prana back.”

In June 2021, Montgomery Village was purchased by Boston-based WS Development, which soon succeeded in outraging a wide swath of Santa Rosans by banishing Rasta Charlie.

In a recent email to Knick, WS Development informed her that the statue needed to be removed by Friday.

In a statement explaining the company’s decision, Maggie Smith, vice president of brand and marketing, told The Press Democrat Thursday that the sculpture needs to go because of concerns “that Rasta Charlie Brown is a misappropriation of race and religion and therefore shouldn’t remain at Montgomery Village.”

Smith acknowledged that “the original intent of the artist was inclusion and we absolutely stand by that mission in addition to wanting to find new and different ways to honor the legacy of Charles Schulz at Montgomery Village.”

Reggae Charlie Brown, as the statue is also known, was created by Sonoma County artist Maria Krahn. Her intent, she told William Johnson, author of the 2021 book “The Complete History of Peanuts on Parade,” was to “convey the fact that people of all ages and ethnicities come together when music is around — especially reggae music.”

Over the summer, however, a woman complained that she found the statue offensive, calling it Charlie Brown “in blackface.”

She lodged a complaint with the mall’s new management company, which informed Knick this week that “after many months of conversations and research,” the statue worked against the goal of making Montgomery Village “a place that welcomes all and creates an environment where customers and guests feel safe and respected.”

The news in August of Rasta Charlie’s imminent exile prompted a wave of anger, directed at WS Development, and an outpouring of support and affection for the statue.

“Instead of removing Rasta Charlie Brown, let's celebrate him!” suggested Marjorie Mann, a self-described “African American/Native American” woman.

“Let's spruce him up, give him a museum-style plaque, describing who he is, what he stands for: ’Recognizing our brown brothers and sisters of various ethnicities, and to appreciate their contributions to our culture, especially reggae’,” she said, quoting Krahn.

Mann suggested throwing Rasta Charlie a party — “A big, welcoming, huge multicultural celebration.”

Christine Kish had a different kind of gathering in mind. In addition to initiating a “Save Rasta Charlie Now!” online petition, the longtime Santa Rosa resident and mental health advocate, began making plans for a “rally or protest” against the management company.

The statue, she believes, is the opposite of racist. It is, said Kish, “a cultural ambassador that takes something people are unfamiliar with, Jamaican culture, reggae music, and presents it in this sweet little cartoon character.”

“Lots of people” were interested in a possible rally, she said, including reggae musicians. “But the other day, Debra (Knick) said she didn’t want that to happen, that she was basically going to roll over and play dead and move (Rasta Charlie) into her building.”

As a result, said Kish, “I’m fielding a lot of phone calls and messages from people that are disappointed and frustrated” that the rally has been called off.

“Where was (a protest) going to happen?” asked Knick on Thursday, motioning to nearby Magowan Drive. “On the road?”

There was no shortage of volunteers to adopt Rasta Charlie. The Church of Roses, just across Hahman Drive from the mall, expressed interest, said Knick, as did Summit Bank, and a local, Black-owned law firm. The owner of an Oakland reggae bar, an actual Rastafarian, reached out to Knick. So have numerous cannabis dispensaries, not surprisingly, along with many other businesses and individuals.

Knick remains convinced that WS Development made a “big mistake” by not taking the pulse of the community, and reversing its decision.

Asked if moving Rasta Charlie indoors felt like a concession, or a stalemate, Knick described it instead as a qualified victory.

“I’ve been really surprised by how much response we’ve gotten, and how much support. A lot of people spoke up. It brought a lot of people together. I think that’s a victory.”

Earlier this week, she stepped outside and saw two young mothers with their children. They were taking pictures of their kids with Rasta Charlie.

“I told them, ‘Good thing you’re getting these pictures now,’” she recalled, “because he’s getting moved inside on Friday. And they said they thought that was ridiculous. I get comments like that all the time. People are astounded that someone can look at that, and think it’s racist.”

You can reach Staff Writer Austin Murphy at austin.murphy@pressdemocrat.com or on Twitter @ausmurph88.