"Sesame Street" talked to our kids about racism. Parents need to keep teaching those lessons
Growing up as a brown child in Kentucky, my family didn't teach me about racism or white supremacy. I wish they had
"Sesame Street" hosted a televised town hall special with CNN on COVID-19 a month ago. It was informative and helpful, if a little dry at times: Elmo and Big Bird asking Dr. Sanjay Gupta and other experts questions that kids might have about the virus. "Sesame Street" made it not scary, while still emphasizing the gravity of the pandemic. Then they hosted another a couple of weeks ago, this one about how to talk to your kids about racism. But even though the content is kid-appropriate, "Coming Together: Standing up to Racism" is really for parents. Elmo's dad's clear and gentle explanation of the current wave of anti-racism protests is one many American adults might need to hear.
Sweet, big-eyed children with their siblings and parents made short videos of succinct and well-rehearsed questions, the kinds that kids are asking everywhere. A Black girl and her sisters on screen asks, How do I answer my friends when they respond, 'But all lives matter,' while still protecting myself? Brown twins ask, Why do people have different skin colors? A white mom asks, I thought teaching colorblindness was enough — what should I be teaching my white children instead?
The answers were fact-laden and given by a diverse panel of experts. The most helpful thing for me to hear, as a woman of color raising a racially ambiguous toddler, is that it's never too early to begin these conversations, and that age-appropriate children's books are an excellent starting point. This is not the first time that (white) parents have considered how to talk to their children about racism. More than 50 years ago, Mr. Rogers dipped his feet in a kiddie pool alongside Officer Clemmons, a Black police officer character, to talk about racism and segregation. This was at a time when public pools in the South would rather be dry and empty all summer than let Black kids swim.
I have seen and heard a few arguments to keep discussions about race and white supremacy away from CONTINUE READING: "Sesame Street" talked to our kids about racism. Parents need to keep teaching those lessons | Salon.com
