Sesame Street Joins CNN for Kids’ Town Hall on Racism

Big Bird and the gang are looking to start the conversation and address racism with children, as Sesame Street and CNN are teaming up for a town hall meeting to discuss the important issue. After the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department and the worldwide protests that followed, it seems that it’s appropriate to bring in the famous children’s characters for this special event to educate young Americans on racism in ways that they can understand. The program will air on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. ET.

Dubbed as the Coming Together: Standing Up to Racism: A CNN/Sesame Street Town Hall for Kids and Families, the CNN program will feature Big Bird moderating alongside Van Jones and Erica Hill. Together, they will educate viewers on the topics of racism, protesting, embracing diversity, and “being more empathetic and understanding.” Of course, Big Bird won’t be coming alone, as his Sesame Street pals Elmo, Abby Cadabby, and Rosita will be joining the panel to answer questions submitted by families. Given recent events, it’s more important than ever for children to get this education, so this is a great opportunity for parents yet to fully explain the subject to their little ones.

RELATED: James Gunn Jumps Into The Muppets Vs. Sesame Street Debate with Some Harsh Words
This will serve as the second town hall meeting featuring the characters of Sesame Street. Back in April, Big Bird and the others addressed the dangerous illness that resulted in a national shutdown, with elementary schools among the many buildings to shutter their doors in recent months. The town hall included Cookie Monster providing tips for making healthy eating choices while staying at home, Big Bird explaining how to deal with losing a loved one, and Elmo learning why face masks and proper hand washing are so important for safety. The program has since been made available to watch for free online by CNN, and it can be found on YouTube, and it seems likely the same will be done with this Saturday’s town hall as well.

Last week, racism was brought back to the forefront of the conversation in the United States when disturbing footage of George Floyd’s death went viral online. The incident sparked outrage nationally with worldwide protests following in the days after, as people all across the world have come together to call for justice for the man that needlessly died. For allegedly asphyxiating Floyd, former officer Derek Chauvin is now facing charges of second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, and the other three ex-cops involved are also getting charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

You can watch the Coming Together: Standing Up to Racism: A CNN/Sesame Street Town Hall for Kids and Families when the event airs on CNN on Saturday, June 6 at 10 a.m. ET. The town hall will also air on CNN International and CNN en Español. It will also be on CNNgo, and cable/satellite subscribers can watch it on demand. Additionally, the program will stream live on CNN.com’s homepage and across mobile devices via the official CNN apps. No cable log-in is required, giving everyone access to the show. This news comes to us from CNN, and families can submit their questions for the Sesame Street characters at CNN.com.

Topics: Sesame Street