NEW YORK, NY - MAY 30: Muppets attend the Sesame Street Workshop 10th Annual Benefit Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street on May 30, 2012 in New York City.
For the nearly 50 years PBS's Sesame Street has been on air, there has been nothing but education and words of wisdom delivered to children through the iconic and lovable muppets such as Oscar the Grouch, Big Bird, Elmo, and even the Cookie Monster.
As the new thought processes came to light, the show didn't hesitate to address and develop many important cultural events such as diversity, inclusivity and homelessness, which is fantastic for children to gain awareness.
Additionally, the highly esteemed children's show is now focusing on the concept of racial literacy in their new special titled The ABC's of Racial Literacy. It also debuted two new Black muppets named Elijah and Wes.
The father and son duo are the latest members of the Sesame Street neighborhood. In the latest episode, they embark on a journey to teach children about racial literacy and detailing what it's all about.
The episode features Elmo examining leaves and seeing that one is red, comparing it to himself, and then noticing that another leaf is brown.
Elmo then innocently asks why Wes and Elijah's skin is brown, which brings up the topic of skin color being produced by melanin. They also go into details of race in this special, which I feel was thoughtful to discuss.
I wish more things like this were around when I was a little girl to help build perspective about various people.
In a statement, Sesame Workshop's Senior Vice President, Dr. Jeanette Betancourt, detailed that they delved into this project because they felt it was essential to open up a dialogue about race to children.
"At Sesame Workshop, we look at every issue through the lens of a child. Children are not colorblind — not only do they first notice differences in race in infancy, but they also start forming their own sense of identity at a very young age," Dr. Betancourt said in the statement.
"By encouraging these much-needed conversations through Coming Together, we can help children build a positive sense of identity and value the identities of others."
How sweet!
Overall, it's groundbreaking to see Sesame Street teaching children and anybody willing to listen and embrace the world's differences.
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