Sesame Street: helps start conversations with your kids about anti-Asian bullying

SESAME STREET

'Sesame Street's' Wes and Alan help boost Analyn's spirits after she was teased about her eyes.

With the surge of attacks against Asian Americans since the start of the pandemic, AAPI parents have had the difficult task of explaining racism to their children.

Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind "Sesame Street," recently released a video focused on the experiences of Asian American children as part of an ongoing initiative to help families have honest conversations about race.

In the segment “Proud of Your Eyes,” the characters Wes and Alan help their friend Analyn, who is Filipino American, after she says she was teased about the shape of her eyes. 

They sing a song together about how their eyes are beautiful and how eyes can tell the story of their family. The video is part of Sesame Workshop's program "The ABCs of Racial Literacy," which provides an educational curriculum on racial justice for young children.

The song includes lyrics such as, “Your eyes tell the story of your family. They show where you came from, and how you came to be. The color, the shape and the size should always make you proud of your eyes.”

"Having open conversations with children about race and racism is critical, not only for building understanding and empathy, but also for beginning the healing process for children who experience racism," say Anita Gundanna and Vanessa Leung, Co-Executive Directors of Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF), who served as advisors on the new resources. 

“The reality is that many children grow up experiencing racism, including Asian American children who for years have reported high levels of racial harassment—a number exacerbated by heightened xenophobia and scapegoating during the COVID-19 pandemic,"they said in a statement.

Alan Muraoka, the Japanese American actor who has played Alan, the owner of Hooper’s Store, on Sesame Street since 1998, assisted in creating storylines centered around diversity and discrimination on the show. Last year, he co-directed a special on racism entitled “The Power of We.”

“To be able to see so many different types of people represented is super important," Muraoka said in an interview with NBC's Today show in 2019. “So for me, being Japanese American, you know, to be sort of the Asian American representation on the show is so important, and I've had so many Asian American parents come up and say how much that meant to them.”

With a long history of building trust with families, Sesame Workshop is the ideal organization to engage parents and caregivers in critical conversations with their little ones, help families cope with the harms of racism, and help build solidarity among communities.”

Besides this video, Sesame Workshop also released online articles, guides and activities to help families continue the conversation about combating racism. The new resources were created with guidance from the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families along with several other racial equity groups.

"Sesame Workshop has always stood for diversity, inclusion, equity, and kindness. As a trusted source for families, we have a responsibility to speak out for racial justice and empower families to have conversations about race and identity with their children at a young age,” said Kay Wilson Stallings, Executive Vice President of Creative and Production, Sesame Workshop. 

“The work to dismantle racism begins by helping children understand what racism is and how it hurts and impacts people. Sadly, today’s announcement 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.”