If you’re a ’70s guy, you’ll probably remember, Free to be … You and me. This is a state-of-the-art children’s education and entertainment task that was designed, created and produced primarily through actress and activist Marlo Thomas. A 1974 ABC television special with poetry, songs and sketches highlighting themes such as genre, individuality, acceptance and empowerment.
As a child, I was impressed by William Wants a Doll, sung by Alan Alda. I think about how amazing it is that kids need to play with a doll as much as I do. It was colorful, positive and attractive. Now that I am a mother of two children, I am surprised that the topics covered in 1974 are equally applicable today.
Therefore, it makes a lot of sense that on June 26, 2020, Free to Be … You and Me recovered a new form in the context of the Black Lives Matter pandemic and motion to help increase the NAACP Legal Defense budget. and educational funding to create a positive verbal exchange around the original project. The occasion was broadcast live on several popular music sites, adding Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music. It included Sara Bareilles, Harry Belafonte, Drew Barrymore, Audra McDonald, Debra Messing, Free to Be Foundation co-founder Gloria Steinem and more.
“The fact that this album, this task has lasted so long, I think it’s because it comes from the truth,” Said Marlo Thomas. “It has a way of sounding a rope and lasts a long time. It was everything we felt we had to do. To carry out an anti-sexist and anti-racist entertainment task, we had to start young people. We want to replace the world, a five-year-old at a time.”
Why was it time to revisit this old song now? Ms. Thomas replied: “The world has changed. Not every single woman grows up to become women, and each and every child does not become men. We exclude too many people. I think the purpose was to be absolutely inclusive and you can’t be loose to be you and me if you MUST be this or that.”
While the Grammy and Emmy-winning song in 1972, Free to Be … You and Me, it was still a source of acceptance, those who worked on the recent edition of 2020 knew there was still room for improvement. If you listen to the 2020 edition sung through Bareilles, you may realize that the words “girls” and “boys” have been updated in “boy” to make them much more inclusive for those who may not be binary.
But what encouraged you to revisit this song and think about how it could be applied to today’s world? I spoke to Dr. Michael H Levine, senior advisor for the Free to Be team … You and me. He said what triggered the concept was: “Marlo Thomas and his spouse Dan Sallick of Subject Matter, an artistic defense founded in Washington DC, were involved in the growing wave of isolation, intimidation and widespread media injustice around the world. a mutual friend, Christopher Cerf, who helped Marlo Thomas produce and edit his bestseller Free to Be a Family and his album Thanks and Giving All Year. Cerf recommended that I contact my team at the Joan Ganz Cooney Center in Sesame Workshop to review studies on the role that media campaigns can simply help draw national attention to these issues. Marlo wrote an editorial in USA Today that mentions some of our studies, and that’s how we started.”
Taking an assignment from about fifty years ago and updating it for today’s global challenge, Marlo and company not only needed to help young people this time.
The team’s vision, led by Ms. Thomas and Mr. Sallick, to help young people expand new talent to replace the world. Unlike the original version, which basically attracted parents and young people, FTB 2.0 was designed to engage the young actors themselves. The effort is to get parents and educators new teams to have meaningful but complicated conversations about all “isms,” especially racism, gender bias, and age discrimination.
“We convened a team of world-class experts at a seminar on the program,” Dr. Levine continued. “The team consisted of experts in learning, health, youth development, racial and gender bias, and religious/denominational experts. We also incorporated school media experts, musicians who are experts in global education and professional development, and added the director of a national teachers’ union. This organization has developed a framework of disorders to be resolved. »
Lately there are so many disorders that we must review to explore with our children. The pandemic, protests and department we are seeing in our councheck out are an urgent source of discussion among educators and advocates of children. To increase the tension of the moment: many adults face unprecedented economic and fitness threats and start thinking about the problem.
Dr. Levine added. “This is a time of great confusion and tension for all parents and educators,” he said. “There are so many upheavals that are on the table for fashionable parents. Free to be … You and me and beyond will use a new program and new musical narratives to make parents free.
If you missed the initial broadcast of this event, you can still see it by visiting the Stars in the House website. Viewing this initiative may also be the cause of the verbal exchange you may want to communicate with your children.
Based on Dr. Levine’s experience, I asked him if he had any words of wisdom to share with parents on these sensitive topics. “Breathe, and take the time to take care of yourself. Take advantage of this rare moment in the family reunification circle to communicate each week on vital issues. Advised.
“At the moment, none of us are free, ” said Thomas. “Many of us are quarantined. In most cases, there is a racial injustice in the country: a separation. Free to be … You and I belong. It’s about being the user you are. And not just Talking about the freedom of children We are talking about a land where everyone is free.
Given everything that is happening in our world, and as a parent myself, I would be more than happy to welcome a completely new and updated Free to Be… You and me for today’s world. There is such a convergence of vital issues to explore while at home with our families. Having existing songs to play and explore with our little ones can be such a difficult tool! For now, I propose to visit the Free to Be Foundation, which stores songs that inspire a varied and supportive way of helping young people publicize their independence.
I am the founder and CEO of Wonder Woman Writer, LLC, writer, comedian and proud entrepreneur of two children, one of whom has special needs. I’ve written songs
I am the founder and CEO of Wonder Woman Writer, LLC, freelance writer, comedian and proud entrepreneur of two children, one of whom has special needs. I have written articles for Time, Parents, Huffington Post and ScaryMommy and I have appeared on Self, Fast Company, Medium, etc. As an expert in infertility, I met in media such as CNN, NPR, FOX, NBC and BBC America, in addition, I participated in the documentary “Vegas Bathrough”. My blog, “The Two Week Wait,” won the Hope Award for Best Resolve Blog: The National Infertility Association and was also named “Best IVF Blog” through Egg Donation Friends. Don’t hesitate to stop at me on Twitter or Instagram, whether @jennjaypal.