Martin Luther King.

[mikebennidict]

Wouldn't it of been interesting if he would of made a guest appearance on SS if he had not been killed a year earlier?

Wonder how it would of turned out and what he would of done on the show?

 

[superboober]

If he had--and whether the production team would have even thought of him is anyone's guess--I can imagine him possible lecturing on how using nonviolent means will often get you want you want with a minimum of fuss, or something along those lines. Alternately, they may have had him sing something about how all sorts of colors work well together as a metaphor for racial harmony (or even perhaps have him duet with Kermit on another rendition of Bein' Green).

 

[CensoredAlso]

That would have been really nice, since the early days of Sesame Street really focused on cooperation and how to work and live together.

 

[Kimp the Shrimp]

I Would have Enjoyed that

 

[fuzzygobo]

Having Jesse Jackson on was the closest they ever came to realizing that dream.

Unfortunately, bigotry was still an ugly fact of life back then (same now). In 1969, when the cast members went around the country to promote the show, some stations in Mississippi and Louisiana didn't want anything to do with Sesame Street, since it featured "blacks and freaky puppets". I guess the notion of a black puppet like Roosevelt Franklin would have really blown their minds.

But Sesame Street has done so much to help promote tolerance, understanding, and having people see (through children's eyes0 that people of different colors are not really that different at all. I bet Dr. King would've been proud.

 

[BEAR]

Yeah, I think that MLK would have worked well with the folks at Sesame Street. I wonder if he and Henson knew each other at all. I'm sure they would have been friends.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

I think they could have gotten him on the show. I think having Dr. King on the show would have been great. They've had first ladys so why not.