“How do you talk to kids about racism?”

“When should kids be taught about racism?”

“Is racism something kids should learn about?”

These are questions that some people feel they don’t have a definite answer to, whether they’re parents, teachers, or adults in general. Some fear exposing children to such significant topics at too early of an age, or feel uncomfortable about the topic altogether. “Yet others, especially those who have experienced racism, simply do not have such choices,” UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund) explains to parents in “Talking to your kids about antiracism.”

UNICEF continues, stating that “the science is clear: the earlier parents start the conversation with their children the better.” According to their studies, babies as young as six months old begin to notice physical differences. By age five, they can demonstrate racial bias. It’s always been important to teach young ones about racism, but especially now, as we’ve shown more progress than ever with the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement and uproar against racial violence seen in the past year.

Popular kids channel, Cartoon Network, however, has taken the liberty of their access to animators’ creativity. To teach their audience of children (and others!) about antiracism, they produced PSA’s, or “public service announcements.” PSA’s have been around since the 1930s, and you might recognize the popular American character, Smokey Bear, who has been preaching on the prevention of wildfires since the 1940s. These messages have ranged through many topics, from drugs and alcohol to bullying and mask wearing.

The animation company specifically used the popular show, Steven Universe, to publicize these messages. Creator Rebecca Sugar’s spin-off, Steven Universe: Future, had ended just earlier that year, before they came out with the four-part antiracism series, the first video being released on YouTube and other social media sites on October 27th, 2020. On their website, Crystal Gems Speak Up, the company states, “Cartoon Network stands behind anti-racism as part of our commitment to fostering inclusion and equity,” along with the four PSA’s and a few BLM and racial justice resources.

Directed by Sugar and Ian Jones-Quartey (animator, producer, and husband of Rebecca) in collaboration with Chromosphere, an animation company working with the Steven Universe franchise since its debut in 2013, the team wasn’t new to PSA’s. The Dove Self-Esteem x Steven Universe 7-part project came out over the span of a year and a half, from March 2018 to September 2019. It dealt with a vast number of subjects from bullying based on appearances to the sometimes cruel world of social media. I remember as a 12-year old, I loved these shorts; it was animated in a completely different art style from the original show, and each video followed the format of a character “acting” for a PSA, only to break into a more realistic insecurity or action, almost a “breaking of the fourth wall” moment. It captivated me.

In one of these Dove messages, character Stevonnie explains through their many posts how social media is “more than how you look. It can be about who you are,” in a classic, direct PSA style. But when a hate comment on one of their photos pops up, Stevonnie breaks from the “script.”

“H-hold up, this isn’t right…. I’m not on social media… I don’t need followers or likes to feel good about myself.” They throw the device off to the side (revealing a set, backdrop, and camera crew), but a message of support and good luck from the other main characters plays. A PSA on how social media can be a place of positivity if you know where to look.

So based on my love of this last project (and my deprivation of the show), I excitedly clicked on the new SU content. After watching, however, I found myself both pleased and a bit disappointed. 

Don’t Deny It, Defy It

A Black boy and white boy appear holding hands in a VHS-style filter. One of them tells the other to get married together when they’re older, until another white kid runs up to them, singing, “black people can’t marry white people!” Garnet, one of the protagonists in SU, approaches and hovers over the three, simply saying, “Hey now, don’t be racist.”

At this point in the video, I was a bit skeptical. Where was the how in “don’t be racist”? It felt lacking and a bit cringe-worthy.

Still, the video wasn’t over yet—it followed the format of “acting” for a PSA again. The white “actor” told the others how cheesy this script was, saying “stuff like this doesn’t actually happen in real life.” 

The main message comes across when Garnet responds, “Just because this doesn’t happen to you, doesn't mean it doesn’t happen…. You have to acknowledge racism to work against it.” 

I thought it was good enough. Perhaps it was the cheesy dialogue that got to me, and the somewhat unrealistic scene, but I realized that this was for kids. What they needed was something intriguing, something direct, something concise. From these three factors, I thought CN did a solid job; it was a start. 

On Twitter, the reaction was wild, the video gaining a shocking 1.4 million views. Obviously, a multitude of racists flooded the comments, some claiming not to let their children watch CN anymore, or missing the whole point altogether, questioning why the bully was racist but not homophobic. “Demanding activism from children is evil,” one user posted. Others questioned why people were responding with such negativity: “Literally this PSA is simply telling kids not to be racist I cannot understand how you can have any type of problem with this unless you’re racist.”

I agree. There was too much unnecessary controversy and hate (the like to dislike ratio, 78k to 96k, proving this further).

———

Cartoon Network followed with two other shorts, Tell The Whole Story released in December 2020 and See Color in February 2021. The earlier release followed Pearl who, this time, questioned the script’s lack of description of other Black historical figures. “Thanks to systemic racism, most of your storytellers prioritize white accomplishments, which leads you to an incomplete picture…. Ask yourself who’s telling the story. Was this modified to make white readers comfortable?” 

The February release had Amethyst questioning the script, which had originally claimed, “color blindness is our game, because everyone’s the same! … Doesn’t matter if you’re white, or black, or purple?” The PSA tackled a more controversial topic, as the idea of “not seeing color” is a phrase that’s been tied to antiracism, and challenging it made some viewers confused, though Amethyst’s response held an important message. 

“Adding a fantasy race in there helps distract from the actual racism Black people have to deal with.” 

“Other people of color experience other forms of racism, too, but you won’t see any of that if you ‘don’t see color,’” a Black girl added on. 

Both received more positive feedback on Twitter, as well as many users spamming the reply section to block out racist comments.

With that, they only had one more release.

Be An Ally

The right way to end this PSA series, in my opinion. How could CN get kids to continue with antiracism? To show that they could make an impact in some way or another?

“Anyone can be anti-racist. It can’t only be up to marginalized people to speak out. That would be totally unfair!” Greg Universe, a white man, tells skeptical aliens, Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl, speakers of the previous three shorts. Compared to the first short released, I thought the writers demonstrated a huge improvement in being more direct and clear, without distracting with overly-childish and unrealistic acting. With Greg being a human, he was also able to make more of a connection with the audience. 

“I used to think racism wasn’t my problem because it wasn’t hurting me. But every time I didn’t fight it, I let systemic racism continue.” He goes on to say that people will make mistakes if you decide to speak out on racism, but from these mistakes, “you can learn, and you can care.”

The negative Twitter comments had died down, with the occasional “This is what brainwashing looks like,” but people challenged these comments.

“.....are you being sarcastic?”

I hope Cartoon Network continues with the PSA’s and fighting racism in general, and that other channels do so as well. CN has been typically on the more open-minded side, portraying LGBTQ+ characters (Steven Universe and Adventure Time) and black characters (Craig of the Creek) as normal people, with fledged-out stories, not solely based on their identity. It’s only the start of teaching kids about antiracism, but with the increasing education and workshops on racial injustice in schools, I sincerely believe that we’ll get more than just a “start.”