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Sesame Street tells poor marginalized kids they are somebodyThis article contains a clip of Jesse Jackson on Sesame Street telling kids that even if they are poor, on welfare, have different clothes, hair, and skin, and speak different languages, they are somebody and they deserve respect. http://contexts.org/socimages/2009/10/23/sesame-street-i-am-somebody-segment-with-jesse-jackson/ "I realized just how effective the demonization of welfare has been when I was actually shocked to hear kids, in a show targeted at other kids, being led in a chant that said being poor or on welfare shouldn’t be shameful and did not reduce their worth as human beings. Can you imagine a TV show, even on PBS, putting something like this on the air today? Our public discourse at this point says that being on welfare is shameful, and that those receiving it in fact aren’t “somebody.” They are dependents, lazy loafers, and their kids are just additional burdens on the state; they don’t have the same rights to dignity and respect as other citizens, and they certainly shouldn’t expect to get it."
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Re: Sesame Street tells poor marginalized kids they are somebody
I loved that clip, thanks for posting it!
Re: Sesame Street tells poor marginalized kids they are somebody
I find it hard to believe that the writer didn't realize how much welfare is stigmatized until seeing this. Someone must have had their eyes shut pretty darn tight.
Oldschool Sesame Street was intended to be viewed by marginalized children in poorer areas. It dealt with a lot of difficult issues that one wouldn't expect from a kids show. Until they realized that it was also being viewed by middle class white children and that became their target audience.
I've never seen that clip before, but it doesn't surprise me. It does make me sad that there's no way you would see that kind of thing on Sesame Street, or any other show for kids these days.
Re: Sesame Street tells poor marginalized kids they are somebody
It makes me sad, how much Sesame Street has sold out.
Re: Sesame Street tells poor marginalized kids they are somebody
I remember that clip. Old Sesame Street was awesome. I have all of 1965-67 on DVD.
Re: Sesame Street tells poor marginalized kids they are somebody
That's cool MB!
I think unfortunately PBS can't put things like this on anymore because they are already so low on funding, they can't risk making themselves any less fund-able.
I was personally pretty surprised to see this on as well. I knew that in the past Sesame Street had been directed towards disadvantaged kids, but I didn't realize they could be so direct in their message, especially one that now would be so politically charged. I guess back in the day it would not have been so horrifying to say this kind of thing.
Re: Sesame Street tells poor marginalized kids they are somebody
I don't think sesame street sold out as much as it has been beat into submission- can you imagine this clip being played as the republican party tried to take funding from pbs and npr? yes, it used to be more, but children's education used to be of more worth than just a video clip and the national attention span had more than 15 seconds. The problem isn't sesame st. - its the left's lack of a backbone for really supporting poor folks, and poor folk's bad for not voting to make themselves realised (although it takes so much more than a vote in the era of lobbies, I just wanted to put it out there that some of us who are ignored ignore out obligations to vote).