NEW YORK (AP) — "Sesame Street" has always pressed for inclusion. Now in the wake of the national reckoning on race, it’s going further — teaching children to stand up against racism.Sesame Workshop — the nonprofit, educational organization behind "Sesame Street" — will later this month air the half-hour anti-racist special "The Power of We" and hopes families will watch together.
The special defines racism for younger viewers and shows how it can be hurtful. It urges children who encounter racism or hear someone else be the victim of it to call it out. "When you see something that’s wrong, speak up and say, ’That’s wrong’ and tell an adult," 6-year-old Gabrielle the Muppet advises.
The special, composed of little skits and songs in a Zoom-like format, will stream on HBO Max and PBS Kids and air on PBS stations beginning Oct. 15.
In one animated skit, a Black Muppet is told by a white Muppet that he can’t dress up like a superhero because they’re only white. Though hurt, the Black Muppet nevertheless refuses to stop playing superheroes, saying they can come in all colors. The white Muppet soon apologizes. "Racism hurts and it’s wrong," is the message.
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