5 Things / the gifts of art


Sesame Street is introducing two new muppets, a Black father and son, who will, for the first time in the show's history, talk about their experiences with racism.
 Of course, they'll talk about other things, too. While the show has always addressed serious topics, it's never discussed racism head-on. 

The Muppets Wesley and Elijah are just part of PBS's new Coming Together initiative called “The ABCs of Racial Literacy” that are “designed to help all families celebrate their own unique identities, while also providing age-appropriate language and strategies to answer sometimes-tough questions around race and racism.

This matters because these conversations don't always happen at home, or in school, and illustrating them can help build empathy towards the lived experiences of others. I've found so often that the most well-meaning people simply don't know what to say when it comes to diversity, and so they don't say much at all. I've been there myself. But one of the great gifts of art (and yes, Sesame Street is art!) is that it can start meaningful conversations. 

Here are some other good vibes I found this week: 

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5 Things / empower ERGs

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5 Things / more than words