On this day in 1969

MAY 8, 1969

Members of the Black Psychiatrists of America interrupted the breakfast of the trustees of the American Psychiatric Association. The Black psychiatrists shared a list of demands that included a rise in Black leadership, a call to desegregate mental health facilities and a rule to bar psychiatrists guilty of racial discrimination. 

Their founding president, Charles Pierce, was especially concerned about television: “American homes have more television sets than bathtubs, refrigerators or telephones; 95 percent of American homes have television sets.” 

Convinced that the way to change young hearts would be through television, he became a senior adviser for a new educational show for preschoolers known as “Sesame Street,” which featured a racially diverse cast. “Sesame Street” would go on to become one of the most successful shows of all time, creating iconic characters that resonate to this day.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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