Sesame Street Adding Two Black Muppets To Talk About Race & Racism

Sesame Street has added two new Muppets to talk about the important issues of race and racism. Sesame Street resonated with children and adults alike when it first aired on PBS in 1969. Combining sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry, Sesame Street has introduced some of the most iconic characters in television history. These include Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Cookie Monster, and Elmo. In 2019, Sesame Street celebrated its 50th anniversary. A feature film adaptation of the children’s series, starring Anne Hathaway, is on the way as well.

Sesame Street is to this day hailed as one of the most successful children’s programs of all time. Sesame Workshop, the organization that produces the children’s show, has created a series of online videos featuring new characters and relevant topics. Over the past few years, Sesame Workshop has introduced Lily, a Muppet who addressed the issue of homelessness, Karli, a Muppet who lives with a foster family due to her mother’s opioid addiction, and Julia, a Muppet with autism. Now, two new Muppets will tackle race and racism.

Per Yahoo, Sesame Street is introducing Elijah Walker, a new black Muppet, and his 5-year-old son, Wesley, to promote racial literacy among its audience. Titled The ABCs of Racial Literacy, the digital content series launched on March 23. One video shared on the Sesame Street in Communities YouTube channel titled “Explaining Race” features Elmo observing different colored leaves and asking of his new friend, “Elmo wants to know why Wes’ skin is brown.” The video opens up a dialogue between Elmo, Elijah, and Wes about identity, ethnicity, and racial justice. The segment elaborates on the autumn leaves metaphor, and Elijah tells Elmo and Wes, “When people of all colors come together, we stand strong, like this tree.”

Portrayed by puppeteer Chris Thomas Hayes, Elijah explains how melanin determines skin in a way Sesame Street’s young audience will understand and states, “The color of our skin is an important part of who we are, but we should all know that it’s O.K. that we all look different in so very many ways.” As Wes and Elijah’s storyline progresses, Sesame Workshop will continue to offer tools on how to confront structural racism and will eventually introduce Naomi, Wes’ Mom. The ABCs of Racial Literacy will be a part of season 52 of Sesame Street, as well as season 53.

The beloved gang of Sesame Street shows no signs of slowing down and clearly remains committed to inclusion and educating its young audience. The ABCs of Racial Literacy is a vital tool that can help children and their parents open the door for important conversations about race and ethnicity. Indeed, Sesame Street‘s educational programming is currently the best resource to simplify complicated issues and can encourage the millions of children who tune in to dismantle racism.

Source: Yahoo, Sesame Street In Communities

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Bethany Guerrero
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Bethany is a news writer for ScreenRant and has been with the team since 2019.

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