I have a 1 year old kid, so lately I've been watching a lot of PBS Kids. In the early 90s I used to watch Lamb Chop's Play Along and Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. Now they have Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Molly of Denali, and Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum. This is an animated show where a group of 3 kids encounter problems in their lives and turn to history to see how to solve them. My station keeps showing an episode that examines the contributions of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, two important figures in Chicano history who led the United Farm Workers' movement during the 1960s and 1970s. The problem is, I'm someone who closely studied this history, so this episode really didn't sit well with me because the writers really overdid it sugarcoating their work. It kind of defeated the whole point of featuring them.
I get that you need to break down complex ideas for little kids, but let's be real, kids are not stupid. For context, I watched it while I was applying for jobs in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and as people everywhere began to think more critically about cartoon characters like Pepe Le Pew, Speedy Gonzales, and Dr. Seuss. Recently, I've been disappointed to to see how cartoon characters reproduce a lot of harmful stereotypes. For example, Sing and Zootopia criminalize Black characters, center whiteness, and celebrate police. And they manage to do all of this despite the fact that the characters are all animals. Pretty depressing indeed.
Going back to Xavier and the Secret Museum, allow me to break down the episode. Xavier, Yadina, and Brad want to play in the Kids' Zone before the museum opens for the general public. But once they arrive, they realize the room is a mess. Things are thrown all over the place. The kids complain that there is way too much work to do and they'll never be able to clean before the museum opens. This leads them to visit the child version of Cesar Chavez, to learn from his example. They land in 1942 California where Cesar is in the fields, instructing workers in Spanish on how to work together so they can fill 30 boxes of grapes in one day. The three kids start to help him pick grapes to meet the daily quota. But pretty soon they complain that the work is too hard, it's too much, and it's too hot. Cesar explains that if they work together they can do it: "We need to get organized and work as a team."
As I was watching with my daughter, I grew skeptical about what the lesson would be in this episode. I was hoping the writers would show Cesar leading a workers' strike and grape boycott, which helped them secure a contract that improved working conditions for farmworkers -- at the time. Not only is labor organizing key to advancing the interests of workers, but farmworkers in particular were excluded from all the major protections of the 1935 Social Security Act, so direct action strategies were crucial to advance their rights. But there was no mention of labor unions, employers, or strikes. Instead, the moral of the story was that if you organize workers into an assembly-line system, you will finish the work sooner. The 3 kids took this lesson back to the museum where they developed a strategy to clean up the Kids' Zone more efficiently and were able to finish before the museum opened. That was it. This made me really angry. I was glad that I was there, to tell my kid how it really happened. Even if she is just 1.
Each episode has two mini-stories. So I was curious to see what followed. Well, the next problem the kids encounter is that they want to play with an arcade game, but another kid is taking a really long turn and holding up the line. In fact, he is so consumed with himself, that he doesn't even notice the 10 or so kids gathered behind him, waiting impatiently for their turns. The kids don't really know what to do, so Yadina goes up to him and politely says: "Excuse me, people are waiting for a turn, so..." to which the kid replies: "Ok, so they can play when I'm done." She goes back to her friends and thinks she's solved the problem. But they soon point out that this didn't solve anything. He's not budging. But this isn't fair. So they go meet Dolores Huerta for inspiration on how to help everyone get their turn.
They land in 1946 California, where the child version of Dolores is twirling a baton, as a member of a marching band. The three kids join the band and begin marching. But the band leader is marching really fast, and the band members are struggling to keep up. Dolores tries to speak up, quietly: "Excuse me, can everyone slow down?" But nobody hears her. This makes her realize she needs to speak up, "clearly, calmly, and with confidence." So she tries again. "Please everyone. Slow down. All the band members need to stay together." This time it works and the band slows down. The three kids thank her and tell her it's important to speak up to help people. Later, when Xavier wants a turn with the clarinet, Dolores steps in to suggest he and another band member switch instruments and take turns. It works. But then the kids get tired from marching because the practice has gone on for a really long time. Again, Dolores steps in to suggest to the band leader that they stop for the day and continue the next day. But the band leader won't budge. Fittingly, he bears a striking resemblance to the kid who wouldn't give up his turn with the arcade game. But the kids tell Dolores not to give up: "Sí Se Puede! Yes We Can!" So she repeats herself one more time, remembering to be clear, calm, and confident: "We would like to take a break. We all need rest." The other kids chime in and agree. To this the band leader says: "Ok. We will pick up tomorrow. Go home." The end. Really??
So the lesson here is: Speak up and you will get what you want. I guess as a woman this one was a little better, just because it's so hard to speak up. But I was still left wanting. After their encounter with Dolores, the three kids go back to the museum and confront the kid who was holding up the line. They tell him: "Excuse me, but did you know you've been playing for a really long time? Maybe it would be fair if everyone took 5 minutes per turn." The kid in question is caught off guard and replies: "Oh sorry. I didn't realize I was playing for so long." The other kids tell him it's ok. They suggest using a timer so they can know when someone's turn is over. Everyone agrees. Problem solved.
I was pretty annoyed now. In theory it's a good solution. Implement a 5 minute timer so everyone gets an equal turn. But this was a story about Dolores Huerta. In the case of labor rights for agricultural workers, to pretend that you can just speak up and ask nicely is a joke. It's inaccurate. Unrealistic. It doesn't work. The person in charge will not just accede. It's not enough to speak up and ask nicely. To confront power and employers, as the United Farm Workers did, they didn't just come up with "Sí Se Puede." They also engaged in direct action protests. They carried out marches, held strikes, organized a boycott that went international. And no, the employers didn't just give in. In fact, they turned to police, strikebreakers, and lawyers. The workers were shot at and endured violence and intimidation. What about that history? How do you explain the history of protest, conflict, violence, and confrontation, to a kid? How do you show them that workers have power? That the only reason workers have rights is because of protest. I guess that's too much for little kids, right? Well, not necessarily. I mean, how do activists talk to their kids about their work? I'm not really sure. I could see how explaining too much to your kids could stress them out. That some conversations might not be age appropriate. But still, I was disappointed at this watered-down version of history.
I know when we were kids, my mom took us to protests, which normalized protesting. That's one way to do it.
I'm glad my kid is feisty. I admire that about her and hope she stays that way. When she gets a little older I'll tell her what Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta really did, and why labor organizing is important. And for now, we'll stick with Daniel Tiger.