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Cartoon Network Teaching Kids to Ditch Colorblindness, Tells Them to 'See Color' and Be 'Anti-Racist' Instead

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Seeing people without focusing on the color of their skin is bad, according to a new public service announcement being pushed by Cartoon Network.

At first glance, the PSA, which is available on YouTube, looks like standard kiddie fare — bright colors, happy animated figures and a cheery little song.

But the song is about what the characters in the PSA call “colorblindness.”

“Colorblindness is our game because everyone’s the same. Everybody join our circle, doesn’t matter if you’re white or black or purple,” the characters say.

That’s when Amethyst stops the song and dance.

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“Hold up a minute here — who wrote this?” the purple alien says. “I think it kind of does matter that I’m purple. I mean, I’m purple because I’m literally an alien.”

The black character then adds, “Well, I’m not an alien, but it definitely matters to me that I’m black.”

“It makes a difference that I’m white,” the white character responds to the black character. “I know the two of us get treated very differently.”

Is this the wrong advice to give kids?

Amethyst then proclaims that having a purple alien makes no sense, but the white girl in the PSA comes to rescue to drive home the moral of the story.

“I think people like the black, white, or purple thing, because adding a fantasy race in there helps distract from the actual racism black people have to deal with,” she says.

The black little girl then runs with that theme.

“My experience with anti-black racism is really specific. Other people of color experience other forms of racism, too. But you won’t see any of that if you don’t see color.'”

“So this entire public service announcement could be a ploy to avoid talking about racism altogether. Hey, could we get a rewrite where we appreciate each other without erasing what makes each of us different?”

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The PSA then ends telling viewers to “see color; be anti-racist.”

Some disagreed with the premise of the PSA.

The text accompanying the YouTube video explains that this is all about understanding racism.

“It’s important to SEE people in all their beautiful COLORS. When you see color and the unique experiences that come from it, you can recognize the role racism plays in our culture AND appreciate everyone and their diversity,” it says.

The PSA is one in a series dwelling on race, according to Animation World Network.

“These PSAs offer a compact message of antiracism targeted toward messaging justice, fairness, inclusion and allyship based in research evidence,” said Deborah Johnson, a developmental psychologist who helped develop the PSAs.

“The PSAs are bold, bringing the complex issues of society around race, gender, identity, and inclusion intensely into focus in a language and with images children can understand.  If we can capture children’s attention and early learning around these issues, our society has a chance to make and maintain shifts in equity for the long term,” she said.

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Jack Davis is a freelance writer who joined The Western Journal in July 2015 and chronicled the campaign that saw President Donald Trump elected. Since then, he has written extensively for The Western Journal on the Trump administration as well as foreign policy and military issues.
Jack Davis is a freelance writer who joined The Western Journal in July 2015 and chronicled the campaign that saw President Donald Trump elected. Since then, he has written extensively for The Western Journal on the Trump administration as well as foreign policy and military issues.
Jack can be reached at jackwritings1@gmail.com.
Location
New York City
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Foreign Policy, Military & Defense Issues




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