Several new videos and articles were released to help families have open conversations about racial justice and literacy.

Entertainment

Sesame Workshop Expands “Coming Together” Initiative with New Videos and Articles

by Blake Harper

Earlier this year, Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit media and educational organization behind Sesame Street, launched the “ABCs of Racial Literacy” as part of the Coming Together initiative. The justice initiative was designed to help equip families with the tools to have open conversations about racial justice and literacy with young children.

And as a part of the ongoing expansion of the “ABCs of Racial Literacy”, the Sesame Workshop released several new resources that will assist parents in teaching their kids about difficult topics surrounding racial justice, including coping with racial trauma and engaging allies to stand up against racism.

The new releases include several videos which focus on the impact that racism can have on children. One video titled “Proud of Your Eyes” features a young Filipino American girl named Analyn opening up to Alan and Wes about being teased because of her eyes. Alan and Wes help Analyn process her feelings and they all sing a song together about how all of their eyes are worth celebrating.

“Breath, Feel, Share” is another video created to help children process teasing in a healthy way, as Wes discusses his hurt feelings after he is made fun of for having curry chicken for lunch. At first, he wants to hold his pain in but his dad Alan helps him share his feelings with the “breath, feel, share” coping strategy. All of the “ABCs of Racial Literacy” videos are available to watch on YouTube or on the Sesame Workshop’s website in both English and Spanish.

Along with these videos, the Sesame Street Workshop released new articles to help parents, including The 4 S’s of Anti-Racist Parenting and Racial Trauma and Responding to Racism. They also provide several new activity-based resources online, including coloring pages, cut-apart affirmation cards, and lyric sheets. You can access all of these resources online for free at the Sesame Workshop.