The audience was at a still silence as Sonia Manzano spoke of her life both on and off the screen in the 44 years that she spent on Sesame Street. On Thursday, September 29, Manzano came to Building 12 for an event free for students and faculty. Manzano’s presentation was part of the diversity series at Sinclair and gave an idea of what the meaning of being diverse meant years ago.
During her presentation Manzano mentioned that growing up from the Bronx in the ‘60s, there wasn’t any representation of Latino people seen anywhere. Sesame Street was one of the first programs to ever broadcast minority stars on television.
“I hope to share my life experiences with people and hope people share their experiences with me,” Manzano said.
According to Manzano, the presentation of black stars on the show caused the Latino community to demand to be represented as well. It wasn’t too long after that she would get the role as Maria, a role she would take on for the next 44 years of her life.
Manzano mentioned that during her time on Sesame Street, both as a writer and as a star on the show, they tried to tackle any and all problems that children at home may be facing. Their goal was to teach children what it meant to be accepting, helpful and kind to others no matter what. As the years went by though, she expressed that they couldn’t have imagined the kind of problems that kids would be dealing with today.
The rest of Manzano’s presentation was an expression of why it is important to be diverse and understand one another: go beyond the cultural differences that still separates us today. She hit home with these words of wisdom that left the crowd at a hushed awe with her stories of growing up in the Bronx and how different it was in her education in her neighborhood versus when she went to college with people from all over the country.
“…I went from an ‘A’ student, top of my class, to a ‘C’ student. I just couldn’t keep up…” Manzano mentions during a recollection of going from her school in the Bronx to college in New York.
Manzano conveyed to the audience that growing up she experienced an education much different than other students. This example was just one of many that Manzano made to drive the point home about how important it is to be more diverse. It is a point that even though our country is diverse and holds many different types of cultures within our borders, there are still barriers and challenges that we face even today.
Her life and the struggle she went through growing up living in a world that wasn’t so accepting and transitioning from that, can be found in her latest book, “Becoming Maria.” The book goes into detail of all the points that Manzano made during her presentation and is on shelves now.
Manzano has written many books, including ‘A Box Full of Kittens,’ and ‘The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano.’ Her book, ‘No Dogs Allowed!’ has been turned into a children’s musical. Since her time on Sesame Street has ended, Manzano has authored ‘Miracle on 133rd Street,’ which is a picture book for children and ‘Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx.’
Lindsey Huff
Intern
Meggan Lanahan
Reporter