Racism is never an easy subject to talk about, but it is important. While it may be easier to avoid the subject, that only perpetuates the situation.

We definitely don’t want our kids to grow up in a world where they are treated unfairly because of the color of their skin, and we don’t want our grandkids to grow up in a racist world either. The sooner we address unfair treatment, the sooner change can happen.

Talking to kids about racism can be especially difficult, but there are multiple ways to make it easier. For example, months ago, Sesame Street hosted a town hall specifically to help parents begin the conversation about racism with their children.

Now, Barbie, as in Barbie doll, is adding to the conversation. First of all, did you know that Barbie has her own YouTube channel? Of course she does. She has to be the most influential doll of our generation.

The YouTube channel and Barbie’s TikTok account are run by the official brand, and they are a pretty big hit. 

Recently, Barbie posted a video with her friend Nikki, who happens to be black. In the video, the two friends sit next to each other and discuss racism head on. 

Barbie starts the video by explaining, “Millions of people across the world are standing to fight against racism, and they’re doing this because, too often, and for such a long time, people have been treated unfairly, and in some cases, even hurt by others because of the color of their skin.” This stuff isn’t easy to talk about, which is exactly why we have to talk about it.” 

Then Nikki leads the conversation. She mentions a couple examples of times when she was treated unfairly simply because of the color of her skin. In these examples, she and Barbie were doing the exact same activities, but Nikki was stopped and questioned about what she was doing when nobody bothered Barbie or assumed that she was doing anything wrong.

Watch the video below to hear Barbie and Nikki discuss racism. You might want to share this video with your kids.

As Nikki says at the end of the video, “listening and being supportive; that’s helpful…If someone is being treated unfairly, stand up for that person.” That’s a good message for all of us, including our kids.