This is the representation our babies deserve!
Sesame Street is honoring Black History Month in the most beautiful way. By celebrating Black hair. In partnership with Dove and the #CROWNLove campaign, the beloved children’s show gave its characters stunning new hairstyles for the month of February, each one rooted in centuries of Black culture and tradition.
The series spotlights three iconic styles: box braids, cornrows, and Zulu knots — and they don’t just show them, they teach the history behind them. Box braids, which date back thousands of years, were highly symbolic and could represent a wearer’s tribe, religion, or even age. The style became popular in the U.S. in the 1990s, with women adding extensions, beads, and jewelry to create new patterns and designs. Cornrows, one of the oldest hairstyles in history, date as far back as 3000 BC in Africa. The name is said to come from the style’s neat, linear similarity to agricultural fields. And Zulu knots, also called Bantu knots or Nubian knots, originated in the Zulu kingdom of Southern Africa as early as 1898. The raised style was considered special in many regions, as it was closer to the heavens. Today, the knots are seen by many as a symbol of self-love and reclaiming culture.
“Hair is an important part of who we are,” Sesame Street shared in their Instagram caption. “It helps us express ourselves, and can tell important stories about a person’s culture and heritage.”
This isn’t the first time Sesame Street has centered Black hair in a meaningful way. In 2010, the show introduced the now-viral “I Love My Hair” segment, featuring a brown-skinned Muppet proudly singing about her curls and coils — a clip that was created after the show’s head writer noticed his adopted Black daughter expressing negative feelings about her own hair. Years later, the “Wash Day” episode featured the character Gabrielle getting her hair shampooed, conditioned, and detangled by her Auntie Kayla — a moment voiced by Megan Piphus Peace, Sesame Street’s first full-time Black female puppeteer, who said she was “making the content I needed as a little girl.”
Now, with this Dove partnership and Black History Month celebration, the show is continuing a legacy of affirming Black children right where they already are — learning their ABCs and 123s. And with nearly 150,000 likes and counting, it’s clear the message is landing exactly where it needs to.
Because when a child sees themselves reflected back with love and pride in the media they consume, it changes the way they see themselves in the world.
Thank you, Sesame Street and Dove, for continuing to get it right!
