(light music)
- Hey, what are you two making?
- We're making a peace tree.
- Oh, cool.
Oh, hi!
Welcome to Sesame Street.
Oh, it's Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
and Charlie and Tamir are making a peach tree.
- (laughs) No, no, not a peach tree.
A peace tree. - Yeah.
- Oh, that's very different.
- Oh, yeah.
- Well, what's a peace tree?
- Well, it's a special tree made from paper.
Yeah, we're all drawing leaves that show
how we'll do our part to treat people fairly
and with kindness.
- Oh.
- We made a peace tree just like this in school
for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day,
and we wanted to make one here on Sesame Street, too.
- Wow. - Oh, well, Elmo
and Abby learned about Martin Luther, Jr. in preschool.
Right, Abby?
- That's right.
We learned that Martin Luther King, Jr. was a great leader.
- That's right.
He stood up against racism, which means treating people
in a hurtful way because of how they look.
- Like the color of their skin or where they're from
or how they speak.
- Yeah.
- Yeah, and that's wrong.
- Yeah, really, really wrong.
- Mm-hmm. - Yeah.
- Dr. King wanted to make the world
a more fair place for all people.
- Dr. King even gave a famous speech about it.
- Mm-hmm.
- Oh, Tamir, do you still have that video on your tablet
that we could show them?
- Oh, yeah, yeah, there's a clip that my dad showed me
of Martin Luther King, Jr. giving his
"I Have a Dream" speech.
- When he says dream, he means he has a wish.
- Yeah. - Oh.
(audience cheering) (audience applauding)
- I have a dream. (audience cheering)
That my four little children will one day
live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color
of their skin, but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
(audience cheering) (audience applauding)
- Yeah, so since Martin Luther King
used peaceful ways of bringing people together
to create a fair and kinder world,
we think making a peace tree right here
would be a good way to celebrate him.
- Right.
We want everyone on Sesame Street to add a leaf
to show what they're promising to do.
- Yeah, how we're all promising to carry on
his wish, not just on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day,
but every day.
- Tamir and I put our leaves up on the peace tree already.
- Oh. - Mm-hmm.
My leaf shows me standing like a superhero,
because I'm going to have the courage to stand up for myself
whenever I'm treated unfairly because of my skin color.
- [Elmo] Oh, that's nice.
- My promise is that I'm going to invite everyone
to play during recess, and make sure
that no one is left out because of the way they look.
(light, whimsical music)
- Oh.
Oh, I wanna make a leaf for the peace tree.
- Oh, yeah, Elmo too.
- Oh, great.
- Here's one for you, Abby.
- Thank you.
- And one for you, too, Elmo.
- Thank you.
- Okay, so just draw a picture of what you promise to do
to celebrate Martin Luther King's wish and then bring
your leaves back here by the end of the day.
- Okay. - Okay.
- We will.
Hey, Elmo, do you know what you're gonna draw on your leaf?
- Hmm, not yet.
Elmo has to think about it.
- Me too. - Yeah.
- [Gabrielle] Rosita!
Have you seen the blue marker?
- Come on. - Okay.
Bye! - Bye.
- Oh, hi Gabrielle.
- Hi, Rosita.
- Hi, Abby. - Hola, Elmo.
- Oh, did Gabrielle drop this marker?
- Oh, thanks, Elmo.
Oh, I was just looking for this.
I need it to draw my leaf for the peace tree.
- Oh, cool.
Well, Elmo and Abby are still trying
to figure out what we're gonna draw on our leaves.
- Yeah.
- Well, we read a book in school about Dr. King
that helped us come up with our promises.
- Yeah, oh, it's called
"My Daddy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr."
See?
- Yep.
It was written by Dr. King's son,
Martin Luther King III.
- Wow! Elmo didn't know that Dr. King was a daddy.
- Yeah well, what's it about? - Yeah.
- Oh, well, it's about Martin Luther King III
when he was a little kid.
- Yep, and what it was like for him to watch
his own daddy and others work to make sure
everyone is treated the way they want to be treated,
with respect.
- That's what helped me to come up with my leaf.
It's a picture of my family and me.
I'm so proud that my family came from Mexico,
and I promise to learn more about my friend Gabrielle
and her family.
- Thanks, Rosita, and for my peace tree leaf,
I promise to express how proud I feel
about being me, by singing and writing poems
about who I am.
- Wow.
Rosita and Gabrielle's leaves are great promises.
- Yeah, you know, I think I know what to draw.
I just love making amazing art with my friends,
and so I promise that I'm always gonna share
whatever I have, like my paper and my crayons.
- That's a great promise, Abby.
- Yes, Abby.
Would you like to use some of our markers
to draw in your leaf?
- Yes, please.
What about you, Elmo?
- Hmm, Elmo's not sure.
Elmo's still thinking about what to draw.
(light music)
♪ Think, think, think, think, think ♪
- Hi, Elmo.
- Oh, hi, Alan.
Oh, hey, it's Martin Luther King, Jr.
You know, Elmo learned a lot about him in preschool today.
- Oh, you did?
- Yeah. - Like what?
- Oh, well, Elmo learned that Dr. King stood up
against racism, and he wanted everybody to be kind
and fair to each other.
Oh, and did you know he was a daddy, too?
- Yes, all of those things are very, very true.
Martin Luther King, Jr. and many, many other people
from the Civil Rights Movement brought people together
in a peaceful way so that we could all have a place
like Sesame Street where we live
and learn and play together.
- Wow.
You know, Elmo really needs to think of something special
to put on his leaf for the peace tree.
- Oh, you haven't drawn a picture on your leaf yet?
Well, think about something you already do
to help people that you can keep doing every day.
So for example. - Yeah?
- [Alan] On my leaf, I drew a peace sign.
- Oh. - And I drew it
to stand for peace and respect,
because everybody deserves to be treated
the way they wanna be treated.
- [Elmo] Oh.
- Last call for leaves for the peace tree.
- Oh, no!
- Oh, what's the matter, Elmo?
- Elmo's having a little trouble with his leaf.
- Yeah, Elmo can't think of a way
that he can spread kindness.
- Hmm, really?
- Yeah.
- Well, Elmo, I kinda figured you were gonna draw
a heart on your leaf.
- A heart? - Yeah.
Well, I mean, you know, you're the kindest monster I know.
- Aw, well, thanks, Tamir.
Oh, Elmo loves being kind to others.
- Yeah, you're kind to everyone.
And when you do kind things, it makes your heart feel good.
- That sounds just like you, Elmo.
- Yeah, being kind and fair to everyone
is part of what Dr. King wished for.
- Oh, well, Elmo's got some drawing to do.
- Great.
Bring your leaf back to the peace tree
when you're finished, okay?
- Okay.
- All right, I'll bring mine now.
- [Tamir] Okay, great.
- Oh, oh, Alan, can Elmo please borrow a crayon?
- Thank you. - Sure.
Draw your heart out.
- Elmo will. (giggles)
Let's see.
(light music)
(crowd chattering)
Here you go, Charlie.
Oh, here's Elmo's leaf.
Oh, Elmo drew a heart just like Tamir said.
- Nice.
- Right there. - Oh, that's perfect.
- Oh, oh, Elmo's promise is to do kind things for everybody
in the neighborhood. (light whimsical music)
- [Charlie] Thanks, Elmo.
- Yeah, and thank you all for filling our peace tree
with such beautiful leaves.
♪ Each leaf is a promise ♪
♪ We all promise to keep ♪
♪ Be fair, be kind, be loving ♪
♪ And always work for peace ♪
♪ We can all do our part ♪
♪ To follow Dr. King's wish ♪
♪ Each leaf is a promise ♪
♪ We all promise to keep ♪
♪ Each leaf is a promise ♪
♪ We all promise to keep ♪
♪ Each leaf is a promise ♪
♪ We all promise to keep ♪
♪ Be fair, be kind, be loving ♪
♪ And always work for peace ♪
♪ We can all do our part ♪
♪ To follow Dr. King's wish ♪
♪ Each leaf is a promise ♪
♪ We all promise to keep ♪
- Yeah. - Yeah.
- Yeah.
- We wanted to find a way to be kind and fair to everyone,
and continue Martin Luther King, Jr.'s wish
right here on Sesame Street.
- And all the promises on these leaves
will keep Sesame Street fair, kind, friendly,
and full of love and respect for everyone.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
- [All] Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!
(bright music) (group laughing)