"Sesame Street" introduces two new Black Muppets to teach about race
CBSN
"Sesame Street" has often introduced new Muppets to teach children about topics like autism, HIV and homelessness. Now, the show's two newest characters, 5-year-old Wes and his father Elijah, will offer a lesson on race, Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind the iconic children's show, announced this week.
The show launched several new "ABC's of Racial Literacy" resources to teach parents and children about race and racism. In one video, Elmo wants to know why his friend Wes' skin is brown. Wes' dad, Elijah, explains melanin. "The color of our skin is important to who we are, but we should all know that it's okay that we all look different in so many ways," Elijah says.Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.