Sesame Street will have two black characters to fight against racism

Sesame Street is a children’s program that we all remember fondly. It aired on TVE1 between 1979 and 2001, and was based on the US educational television series Sesame Street. Its main characteristic are the puppet characters, better known as Muppets. During these years the creators have included on numerous occasions new characters to teach children such important topics as HIV or autism. Now Sesame Street has chosen to bring two black characters into the neighborhood to fight racism. The characters are Wes, a five-year-old boy, and his father, Elijah. In addition, in a CBS publication you can read that Sesame Street has presented a guide for the little ones on racial literacy. A great step forward with which the creators want young and old to learn and become aware of the enormous inequalities that racism creates.In the first video Elmo is interested in knowing the reason why his friend Wes has black skin, and Elijah replies quite naturally that it is melanin. He gives a very forceful answer, explaining that the color of the skin is important to know where a person comes from and to learn that there is nothing wrong in being different. And he goes on to say that external things, like the nose, the eyes or the color of the skin make us who we are, and that is called race. And it ends with a very important message: “Although we all look different, we are all part of the human race.” In addition, the new neighbors sing the song entitled ‘Giant’, which is about cultural diversity, pride, self-esteem and big dreams for the future of the little ones.According to the creators, this is just the first step in a series of initiatives that Sesame Street is going to launch to fight racism and racial inequality. In addition to Wes and Elijah, Sesame Street has several black characters. A good example is Tamir and Gabrielle, who are part of the ‘The Power of Us’ club and celebrate their different identities, sometimes becoming advocates for many causes.