They were harmless, a tall, yellow bird, a blue monster who loved cookies, and all the

children who came to play.

But it was all too black for this state, and the day they banned the show shares eerie

similarities with today.

This is Two Minute Black History, what you didn't learn in school.

In 1970, Mississippi's all-white state commission for educational television gathered for a critical

discussion.

Whether or not Sesame Street should stay on the air.

And the vote to ban the children's series won.

They asked the show because it reportedly had a highly integrated cast of children.

Joyful black children playing and learning, especially alongside white children, was a

problem.

Shreve Port Louisiana shared that sentiment, dropping the program because it was Two Black.

For 22 days, parents protested this decision, forcing the board to put it back on the air.

Just a year later, local police arrived decked out in riot gear when the parents group

invited the cast to visit.

Still, their act of protest was successful.

Today, Jackson, Mississippi, is considering plans for a separate white judicial district.

Across the country, books that offer representation outside of anti-black norms are getting banned.

But Sesame Street is still standing.

They've even been running a community program offering resources to children's and their

parents to cope with all the violence and racial trauma in the news.

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