"The color, the shape and the size should always make you proud of your eyes"
A new Sesame Street video has addressed anti-Asian bullying and racism.
Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind the children’s TV show, is aiming to share experiences of Asian American children as part of ‘The ABCs of Racial Literacy’.
The workshop provides an educational curriculum on racial justice for young children.
Titled Proud of Your Eyes, the video shows characters Wes and Alan helping their Filipino American friend Analyn who is teased about her eyes.
Singing a song about how beautiful their eyes are with the lyrics “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.”
Sesame Workshop’s recent study found 86% of children said they believe people of different races aren’t always treated fairly. Half experienced discrimination.
“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,” Anita Gundanna and Vanessa Leung, co-executive directors of the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families, said in a statement.
“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.”
“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,” Gundanna and Leung, who served as advisers on the new Sesame Workshop resources, said.
In other news, a TV series inspired by the popular Facebook group ‘Subtle Asian Traits’ is in development.