SESAME STREET OFFERS NEW RESOURCES to help families discuss race and racism

SESAME STREET OFFERS NEW RESOURCES to help families discuss race and racism

SESAME WORKSHOP — the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street — is releasing new resources to help families talk to young children about race and racism called the “ABCs of Racial Literacy.”

The rollout is part of Coming Together, Sesame Workshop’s ongoing commitment to racial justice, rooted in extensive research and consultation with experts to develop an educational framework and curriculum for young children. It builds on recent efforts focused on tackling racism and its impact on children, including The Power of We: A Sesame Street Special, the CNN Town Hall Coming Together: Standing Up to Racism, and other content.

“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,” said Jeanette Betancourt, senior vice president of Sesame Workshop. “‘The ABCs of Racial Literacy’ is designed to foster open, age-appropriate conversations among families and support them in building racial literacy. 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.”

Parents can visit sesameworkshop. org/comingtogether to sign up for an eNewsletter and find helpful resources that will be continually updated — including stories and music videos designed to help all families celebrate their own unique identities, while also providing age-appropriate language and strategies to answer sometimes-tough questions around race and racism. The tools are meant to help parents have open conversations with young children and to engage allies and advocates to become upstanders against racism.

“The work to dismantle racism begins by helping children understand what racism is and how it hurts and impacts people,” said Kay Wilson Stallings, Sesame Workshop’s executive vice president of creative and production. “Sadly, [this] comes at a time of racial and social discord when many families are in need of support in talking to their children about racism. We’re proud to reaffirm our Coming Together commitment to racial justice, which will be woven into new Sesame Workshop content for years to come.”