If you’ve been looking for a good way to celebrate diversity with your very youngest kids during Black History Month (and well, every single month), a great place to start is Sesame Street. Because, of course!
Our favorite kids’ show has been celebrating diversity from episode number one, and this month their YouTube channel is highlighting a great selection of clips in honor of Black History Month that your kids will love. From from old school clips with Maya Angelou to Hamilton’s Daveed Diggs, these are just some of the clips from the Sesame Street YouTube playlist celebrating Black History Month, with some of our very favorite guest stars.
Related: 10 outstanding Black History Month books for kids of all ages
It just doesn’t get better than Ray Charles, right? Here he sings Believe in Yourself with Elmo, giving kids a little does of inspiration and self-confidence. Warning: Elmo’s voice on the high notes is…ouch. But Ray Charles? Perfection.
Our former first lady was a champion for healthy eating, so we’re still showing our kids this video of Michelle Obama and the most important meal of the day.
This one of Janelle Monae singing The Power of Yet is like a full-on music video that teaches kids not to give up on their dreams just because they haven’t mastered them yet.
Related: Because Of Them, We Can: Where kids honor our Black History heroes, charmingly
Lupita Nyong’o loves her skin as every woman, man, and child should. That goes for you too, Elmo.
I love this vintage clip of Maya Angelou’s Name Song, which empowers kids to love their name…especially those with names that reflect their heritage.
We just can’t get enough of Hamilton these days, and this short clip of Daveed Diggs singing — and rapping — Rubber Duckie (also shown at top) is amazing.
If you’re big Brooklyn Nine-Nine fans like we are at my house, then you’ll love seeing Terry Crews show us what it means to be an Artist. Nice dance moves, Sarge.
Even though there’s no guest celebrity in this short video, we love the empowering message in this fun I Love My Hair video by the muppet Segi, who’s inspired by the writer’s Ethiopian daughter.
Thanks, Sesame Street, for collecting these — and so many more — awesome videos our kids can enjoy during Black History Month, and you know, every single month. Check out their YouTube channel to see them all!
