3/24/2024 0 Comments Sesame street look a little closer![]() And that’s been the whole point of “Sesame Street” from its origins: to make accessible what seems difficult or mystifying to everyone who needs to know how the world works. If only grownups in real life could learn how to be as straightforward and matter-of-fact when discussing these things. ![]() “The color of one’s skin,” Elijah adds, “is an important part of who we are, but we should all know that it’s OK that we all look different in so very many ways.” How parents can support kids through (and beyond) the latest wave of anti-Asian American violence (Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images) David Ryder/Getty Images Following recent attacks on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Seattle and across the U.S., rally organizers planned several days of actions in the Seattle area. SEATTLE, WA - MARCH 13: Demonstrators gather in the Chinatown-International District for a "We Are Not Silent" rally and march against anti-Asian hate and bias on Main Seattle, Washington. Right, Dad?”Įlijah, with clarity, openness and without a trace of either discomfort or condescension, backs up his son’s reply with more details on how melanin not only determines skin color, but also the hue of one’s eyes and hair. My mom and dad told me it’s because of melanin. With enthusiasm, Wesley replies: “I know why, Elmo. The Walkers are, as noted, more realistic in depiction, and they are both willing and able to answer queries from established non-humanoid beings like the irrepressible Elmo, who at one point asks Wesley and his dad why their skin is brown in the guileless, openly curious way a small child might pose the question. A previous “Sesame Street” resident was Roosevelt Franklin, a Muppet “monster” who was African American in speech and attitude but was purple in color. It has also broken ground in introducing recurring characters with autism and characters of different ethnicities. Wesley Walker and his father, Elijah, are two new African American characters on "Sesame Street." Sesame Streetīut throughout its 52-year history, “Sesame Street” has handled issues like hunger, addiction and grief with insight – and when necessary, delicacy. They are conceived to answer any and all questions about what racial difference means in other words, what makes a Black person a Black person.ĭepending on one’s point-of-view, such inquiries may seem too complex to explore, especially on a children’s show. Both are African American human, or humanoid, Muppets. Those matters arise with the show’s two new Muppet characters: Wesley Walker and his father, Elijah. It’s this kind of thinking that “Sesame Street” confronts head-on in its “Coming Together” initiative, including the “The ABCs of Racial Literacy,” which openly discusses the kinds of things saying “I don’t see color” avoids. Negative words impact children's negative opinions of others, study findsįollowing this logic, how is such negation different from the kind of explicit racism that it purports to fight? Children who overheard negative words about a fictional group were more likely to have a negative attitude toward that group compared to children who did not overhear anything. ![]()
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