Franklin was a legal secretary, insurance agent, and real estate agent. Her time in politics began when she was a part of multiple Democratic social clubs, party efforts, and multiple community organizations. She was affiliated with the Polk County Community Action Council, Greater Opportunities Inc, the Des Moines Chapter of the
NAACP, Americans for Democratic Action, the John F. Kennedy Democratic Club, and the Polk County Democratic Women's Club. Franklin joined the
Iowa House of Representatives in 1966, as the successor of
Willie Stevenson Glanton, at 36 years old. During Franklin's first session, she was part of the Appropriations, Schools, Cities, Towns, and Tex revision committees. Franklin was elected as the
assistant minority leader of the Democratic House at the 63rd General Assembly. She was the first African American to have that type of leadership position in an Iowa major political party. In 1968, at the
Iowa State Capitol, Franklin addressed the nation about
Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination. She begged for the "good white people" of the United States to allow the black man to "walk in dignity and equality". Franklin also said that the school board in
Des Moines, Iowa should end school segregation, that the city council should let African Americans have jobs, and that the city's welfare recipients are treated in a "humiliating" way. During the speech, she stated that she had sent a
telegram to ten members of the Congress and Senate requesting that King's birthday be made a
national holiday. ==Death==