Wesley and Elijah Walker made their “Sesame Street” debut on March 23rd
SESAME STREET released a digital clip, titled “Explaining Race,” yesterday. In it, we are introduced to 5-year-old Wesley Walker and his father, Elijah.
As the pair are enjoying their afternoon nature walk, Elmo arrives to engage them in a short and age-appropriate conversation that touches on their Black identity.
Using the autumn leaves as a metaphor, Elijah tells Wes and Elmo, “When people of all colors come together, we stand strong, like this tree.”
This new video was included in “The ABCs of Racial Literacy,” a new digital content series produced by “Sesame Street” in conjunction with its ongoing “Coming Together” effort meant to emphasize racial justice.
“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, a senior vice president at Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind the show, in a statement on Tuesday. “‘The ABCs of Racial Literacy’ is designed to foster open, age-appropriate conversations among families and support them in building racial literacy.”
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It is reported that this will stay a digital piece exclusively and won’t be part of the regular broadcasts, but in the future we should see more of these characters, and will see the addition of Wes’s mom “Naomi”.
Susan Saunders 3/24/21
