Roosevelt Franklin is an African-American Muppet who was featured on the children's television series Sesame Street during the early 1970s.

Sesame Street cast member Matt Robinson, who also played Gordon on the series for the first three seasons (1969–1972), created the character and provided his voice.

Robert W. Morrow, author of "Sesame Street" and the Reform of Children's Television, wrote that "Franklin's sudden arrival may have been in response to early criticism of the show as too white.

Later scenes were set in a classroom at Roosevelt Franklin Elementary School, in which Roosevelt appears to fill in for an absent teacher while teaching lessons about up and down, high and low, loud and soft, here and there, good and bad luck, poison, Africa, rhyming words, trying and trying again, leaving other people's belongings alone, and street-crossing safety.

[2] Teachers and staffers were also concerned that his rowdy behavior in class was setting a bad example for the pre-school audience.