Classic Sesame Street - Roosevelt Franklin's Alphabet

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sawing14s

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Tags: 1969 Classic Franklin Long Loretta Matt Muppets Robinson Roosevelt Sesame Street

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Lo and behold, here's a classic lip-synced Muppet bit from 1969, featuring the voices of Matt Robinson and Loretta Long (the original Gordon and Susan). Note how incredibly butch Roosevelt sounds here - this must have been his very first appearance.
Whew! Even I'm amazed I was able to post this.

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Array ( 5 months ago by LHZZ12MM)

OMG!@$%!@Q)!
Haven't heard/seen this is eons, and STILL it's fresh, like yesterday!
I'm 4 years old again :) :) :)

funny--I just ... ( 4 months ago by fohunned)

funny--I just posted this one on a message board and people challenged me by saying I was stereotyping our race.

The opening ... ( 4 months ago by Akira625)

The opening bassline on this skit is funk-a-licious, man!

How sad fohunned ... ( 3 months ago by JanaGen87)

How sad fohunned that people would say that you were stereotyping your race by posting this somewhere. At least you have a sense of humour. I'm not black but even as a kid growing up in the '70's in Canada, I loved Roosevelt's funky style and he was one of my favourite muppets (amongst many)! Then he suddenly disappeared and as I child I wondered why...I guess even back then people were overly-sensitive.
Roosevelt rocks, and it's nice to see him more of him on YouTube!

Allright!!!! I ... ( 3 months ago by elsuperbrain)

Allright!!!! I used to love Roosevelt Frankling back in the 70s here in Puerto Rico. Even with my poor english I tried to sing his songs. (I learned english a great deal thanks to Sesame Street.)
what's all that nonesense about racial stereotyping? Liberals can be tremendously stupid sometimes. This is not stereotiping, this is cultural history. And I loooove it... Yeah yeah yeah...

I never knew Sesame ... ( 2 months ago by garrettsambo7)

I never knew Sesame Street was racist!

How is this clip ... ( 2 months ago by mjlaird)

How is this clip racist?

Amazing. We live in ... ( 2 months ago by migueldelrio85)

Amazing. We live in a generation of videos on tv showing blacks selling and smoking weed, pimps, and ho's black women being called bitches and paraded around the scene with tight pants and skirts on, the 'n' word all over everywhere and THIS generation has the AUDACITY to say that this this stereotype? Amazing. Simply Amazing.

Roosevelt is the ... ( 2 months ago by imSOridiculous)

Roosevelt is the most awesome kid on Sesame Street. I wonder what happened to him? Well, he's my favorite. :]

I had a friend who ... ( 2 months ago by Mommy246)

I had a friend who had this on a record and we used to dance to this and put on lip sync concerts to this. Funny for a couple of white chicks from the early 80's!

Gee, garrettsambo7- ... ( 1 month ago by galaxyhigh73)

Gee, garrettsambo7- I guess Matt Robinson and Loretta Long never knew it either. You may want to hurry up and let 'em know; after all, them being two black cast members who happen to have performed the voices for this, the news might upset them after all this time.

Array ( 1 month ago by NakamuraNamiko)

YOU ARE MY HERO.
:3
Roosevelt Franklin is sexy. :)

Roosevelt Franklin, ... ( 1 month ago by dallasman)

Roosevelt Franklin, arguably one of the first breakthrough Sesame Street Muppets, had to go as he was considered to be a negative cultural stereotype (he was the only African American Muppet at the time and was seen mostly in detention after school). Some of these banned segments continued to air on the Canadian version for some time after they were removed from the US show.

Patti Labelle's " ... ( 1 month ago by datmancalledwhw)

Patti Labelle's "gospel style" version (c. 1999) may be the most SOULFUL rendition of the alphabet song, ..... but even 39 years later, THIS stands firm as the FUNKIEST rendition, ever.
Can You Dig It?

they said that ... ( 1 month ago by jera1986)

they said that roosevelt franklin portrayed the bad stereotypes placed upon the african-americans. on sesame street, he did a lot of things that were typical of the average black person (being loud, obnoxious, not givin a fuck, failing in school, things of that nature). he received a lot of complaints from the black community about how his image on sesame street makes the black community look inferior to other races. thats why he was put off the air...too bad though, i liked him..he was kick ass

I love this. ... ( 1 month ago by elsuperbrain)

I love this. Roosevelt is the best!

I used to LOVE ... ( 2 weeks ago by TadAllagash)

I used to LOVE Roosevelt Franklin. It was kinda racist to name the black character after two Presidents after that (anyone remember Charlie Brown's black friend, also named Franklin!) That said, I wouldn't give away my childhood memories for anything. Miss you Roosevelt

Just because those ... ( 1 week ago by simplyphenomenal)

Just because those things do exist doesnt mean this isnt a sterotype, because it is.

I'm glad I wasn't ... ( 1 week ago by amnfoliver)

I'm glad I wasn't alive in the 70's, this is straight up racist. It's almost as racist as FOX News. You may as well have a muppet named Darky who does a little soft shoe and eats Watermelon.

That's not true.. ... ( 1 week ago by jensmusicfaves)

That's not true.. he didn't fail in school. In fact, I had the original RF album, and he teaches kids things like letters and numbers and tells them to GO TO/STAY IN school (not black kids specifically.. all kids).

=O The song's ... ( 1 week ago by Yoshiling)

=O The song's lip-synced? I thought the puppets were actually singing it themselves! :) J/k. 5/5.

This was political ... ( 1 week ago by dangard88)

This was political correctness gone bad. Roosevelt was one of the BEST muppets ever! "inferior"??! He was a classic OVER-acheiver! Not just staying in school but teaching it! And his musical ability...that's not a stereotype, it's a TALENT!! A talent shared by many blacks yes, but how is that a bad thing? There was a muppet called "placido Flamingo" who sang opera, but there were no tirades by the Latino community. Finaly, Roosevelt had a mom....he expressed a sense of family.
I misshim

Roosevelt has a ... ( 1 week ago by dangard88)

Roosevelt has a mother...this expresses the importance of family.
He not only stays in school, but actually teaches it...he's a classic OVER-acheiver!
If his style of singing is a stereotype...is it really a BAD one? Is it wrong to display such talent? How is it insulting to blacks to suggest that they have great musical gifts??
If the way he talks is stereotypical, mabye it was so black kids would identify with him...and love their family, stay in school, and show their talents!

What utter, abject ... ( 2 days ago by gr8pumpkin)

What utter, abject BULLSHIT jumping all over this as racist. The late '60s and early '70s were THE era for the blacksploitation flick and shows like Good Times and Sanford and Son. This wouldn't resonate at all unfavourably with anyone then, just as a rap tune of the alphabet wouldn't do so today. Don't take your modern crybaby politically correct brainwashing and apply it to things out of historical context. One can only wish that black music was still so soulful and funky today.

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