PBS Kids Preps Special on Race & Racism

“PBS Kids Talk About: Race and Racism,” a special that will feature conversations between children and their parents, is slated to premiere in October.

The half-hour program will see the kids and their parents talk about race and racial justice-related topics in an age-appropriate way, covering noticing differences in race, understanding what racism can look like and more. “PBS Kids Talk About: Race and Racism,” which will also include content from the PBS Kids series Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Arthur and Xavier Riddle and The Secret Museum, will premiere on October 9.

The special will debut as part of PBS Kids Family Night on the PBS Kids 24/7 channel. It will also be available on PBS stations nationwide and streaming on pbskids.org, the PBS Kids Video app and on PBS Kids’ Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

Produced by Crossroads Productions for PBS, the special was developed in consultation with Dr. Aisha White, director of The P.R.I.D.E Program (Positive Racial Identity Development in Early Education); Dr. Renée Wilson-Simmons, executive director of ACE (Adverse Childhood Experience) Awareness Foundation); and Dr. Dana Winters, director of Simple Interactions and Academic Programs and assistant professor of child and family studies at the Fred Rogers Center. The PBS Kids Talk About series and the “PBS Kids Talk About: Race and Racism” special were created with major funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Lesli Rotenberg, chief programming executive and general manager for children’s media and education at PBS, said: “PBS Kids believes kids are capable of understanding and talking through tough, but important issues with the adults in their lives—something that has been core to our mission for the last 50 years. Through the ‘PBS Kids Talk About: Race and Racism’ special, our goal is to support parents in talking with their children about race, anti-Black racism in our country, and how to be actively anti-racist. Parents have increasingly asked us for these resources, and we hope that this special will provide a helpful starting point in whatever way they choose to have these conversations with their children.”