On Monday,Germany poet Amanda Gorman taught Sesame Street's Grover about a new word, "upstander."
Gorman is the first guest in a new "Word of the Day" video series from Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind Sesame Street. Produced in partnership with media company WarnerMedia Kids and Family, the series "harnesses the power of language to nurture children’s positive and healthy senses of self," according the announcement. Each short video will feature celebrity guests including Samuel L. Jackson, Gabrielle Union, Brett Goldstein, Anna Cathcart, Zazie Beetz, Ava DuVernay, and First Lady Jill Biden as they introduce new words like "belonging," "fairness," and "proud."
In the video, Gorman and Sesame Street character Gabrielle tell Grover that an upstander is someone who "uses their kind words or actions to help their friends or themselves when they're being treated unfairly and unkindly." Sometimes people are treated unfairly because of how they look, the language they speak, or their religion, they explained. So if someone were to say something unkind about the color of Gorman or Gabrielle's skin, Grover offers, being an upstander is saying, "that is wrong, and all skin is beautiful." Or, Gabrielle suggests, she can be an upstander for herself and say "that's wrong and not fair," if someone says they can't play with her because of the way she looks.
The series comes from the ongoing Coming Together, a racial justice initiative that was created in 2020 after Sesame Workshop saw an increased need to "help families talk about race, ethnicity, and culture with their children," read the announcement. Coming Togetherhas also featured a town hall with CNN and two full-length specials, content that includes two new Sesame Streetcharacters, Tamir and Ji-Young, the first Asian American puppet.
“We know that children are not colorblind; they absorb messages about their own and others’ identities from a very young age, from their own lives and the world around them," Akimi Gibson, Sesame Workshop’s vice president and education publisher who was one of the leaders in the Coming Togetherinitiative, said in the press release. “With these new videos — and as with all of our Coming Togethercontent — we want to support caregivers as they help their children navigate our complex world," Gibson continued.
Monday's video and upcoming "Word of the Day" videos will be featured on Sesame Street's YouTube channel, and Cartoon Network and Cartoonito's social channels.
Topics Social Good Sesame Street
Your 'wrong person' texts may be linked to Myanmar warlord
The enduring appeal of what are you listening to videos
Globalization in Germany
Twitter is overrun with Facebook and Instagram memes
Waitin’ on the Student Debt Jubilee
'Super Mario Bros. Wonder' is about being nice to people on the internet
Our Screenwriting Issue For Only Fifteen Dollars
The Morning News Roundup for October 15, 2014
Against Fear
Elon Musk 'likes' trending #BanTheADL posts as white supremacist ad runs on platform
The best day to book your flight, according to Google
Viral TikTok Buffalo cauliflower wings are pretty good, but not worth the work
The enduring appeal of what are you listening to videos
The Morning News Roundup for October 29, 2014
Astronomers saw one galaxy impale another. The damage was an eye
'Super Mario Bros. Wonder' is about being nice to people on the internet
Who the Fuck Was That Guy?
Price drop: Get Diablo IV on Xbox for just $54.59
Today's Hurdle hints and answers for May 5, 2025
UFO videos, newly declassified, now live at this Pentagon website
A British store is launching cafes where people can chat about mental healthDave Chappelle thinks Trump isn't the best for the comedy worldBritish government warns staff to stop posting negative tweets about Donald TrumpSure you're not a robot? Solve this chess puzzle and prove it.Only those with dirty minds will appreciate this Ed Sheeran hashtagJ.K. Rowling and basketball player bond on Twitter over nasty 'Harry Potter' cutYup, the pen trumps keyboards when it comes to learningDonald Trump's tweet about Snoop Dogg may be his weirdest 140 characters so farPrince William's dad dancing is the internet's latest obsessionSean Spicer is Trump's dad in a 'Daily Show' parody of that BBC videoWe know what Amber Tamblyn actually named her baby thanks to Hillary ClintonTalks of a 'Matrix' reboot are sending Twitter into a spiral of despairAll the characters in 'Beauty and the Beast' who were probably gay all along25 pressing questions from a SXSW first'This Is Us' bosses promise less tears and more laughs in Season 2A British store is launching cafes where people can chat about mental healthMark Hamill brutally shuts down Trump staffer in 1 tweetNBA star has priceless reaction to guy who wants him to sign a toasterAll the characters in 'Beauty and the Beast' who were probably gay all along'Fox & Friends' seems to think 'journalism matters' is an anti Rick Perry regrets calling for abolishment of Energy Department Musical Hallucinations by Nancy Lemann Making of a Poem: Michael Bazzett on “Autobiography of a Poet” by Michael Bazzett ‘Google Assistant with Bard’ demo leaks — here’s what it can do with your photos Mysterious Twitter account steps forward to lead the National Park resistance A Coiled Spring by Mary Gaitskill Get the M2 MacBook Air at its lowest price at Best Buy Dear Mother by Colm Tóibín Rear Window, Los Feliz by Claudia Ross Wordle today: The answer and hints for January 30 Going Roth Mode by Sean Thor Conroe It’s Nineteen Seventy At William Faulkner’s House by Benjamin Nugent Elon Musk's Neuralink has implanted a brain chip in a human for the first time On Paper: An Interview with Thomas Demand by Olivia Kan Will Taylor Swift attend the Super Bowl? What we know. Primrose for X by Fanny Howe The Badlands Twitter account is the ultimate climate rebel Trump nominee pledges to shield NOAA climate scientists from intimidation, censorship Daniel Mason, Marta Figlerowicz, and Malachi Black Recommend by The Paris Review