Elmo and his dad show the best way to talk to little kids about racism
If you’ve found the Black Lives Matter protests and the events that caused them to happen stressful, imagine how worrying it must all seem to children.
In conjunction with CNN, Sesame Street held a “town hall” – an address to the public featuring politicians and experts – on racism, to help parents and carers find a way to explain the issues and events to children.
Atlanta’s Mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms – alongside two CNN journalists and Big Bird – took questions and gave child-friendly advice on how to combat racism.
It also featured Elmo and his dad, Louie, who had a very moving chat about the protests.
“Not all streets are like Sesame Street. … What we are seeing is people saying 'enough is enough.' They want to end racism.”@Elmo’s dad Louie explains why people are protesting across the US. https://t.co/icV04F4FNW #CNNSesameStreet pic.twitter.com/1efrMAzZ8V
— CNN (@CNN) June 6, 2020
“Not all streets are like Sesame Street.”
People found the clip helpful and moving.
Parents: I dunno, it might be too early to talk about racism with my kid…
Sesame Street: https://t.co/dwUQfnVkdS
— sending love 💌🐇 looking for work (@jazuren) June 6, 2020
Sesame Street continues to win. https://t.co/edoi3gqqaY
— ❄Mikki Kendall❄ (@Karnythia) June 6, 2020
All showrunners: bring up this clip every time an exec tells you you can't delve into deeper topics on children's television. If furry red puppets can talk about these issues, so can your show. It's not that execs don't think kids can handle it, it's that execs can't handle it. https://t.co/0NRPveqxET
— Oweeeeendennis (@OweeeeenDennis) June 7, 2020
Damn, this hit too hard. I'm undone. https://t.co/i6QackYKvq
— Kyle J. Howard (@KyleJamesHoward) June 6, 2020
The reason they pulled this off so brilliantly is that they’re old hands at anti-racism down on Sesame Street.
To everyone saying/thinking this was "inappropriate" and "not their place", this is already a message they've endorsed in S.S. itself. This clip is from the early 90s, 25+ years ago. Y'all fake, don't even try to dictate to them when you can't even recall the common lore lmao https://t.co/boB4c0WF7K pic.twitter.com/RBnQa5dJqx
— Delhi D i s t a n c i n g (@DelhiWacky) June 6, 2020
You can watch the whole thing here if you want to.
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This outtake from Sesame Street proves that Elmo is as wholesome as you’d expect