In 2020, enough was enough, after America watched an 8 min clip of George Floyd, a black man, being murdered by Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin who was kneeling on his neck. A that point it felt that not only America was tired of racial injustice, but the world was. Like many platforms and companies, the children’s all time loved show Sesame Street felt they to do their part on informing children on racism, with their latest program, ABCs of Racial Literacy. For this portion of the show, Sesame Street decided to add to new black muppets.
In the newest episode, 5 year old Wes and his father Elijah meet Elmo who like to know why their is brown. Wes’ father Elijah then tells him about that beautiful thing called melanin and how it gives use our many shades of bronze.
“At Sesame Workshop, we look at every issue through the lens of a child. Children are not colorblind—not only do they first notice differences in race in infancy, but they also start forming their own sense of identity at a very young age,” said Dr. Jeanette Betancourt, senior vice president, Sesame Workshop in a written statement. “‘The ABCs of Racial Literacy’ is designed to foster open, age-appropriate conversations among families and support them in building racial literacy. By encouraging these much-needed conversations through Coming Together, we can help children build a positive sense of identity and value the identities of others.”
I definitely love what they are doing!