AUSTIN, Texas — A Brownsville, Texas, puppeteer is bringing a new "Sesame Street" character to life to teach young viewers lessons on race.

Bradley Freeman Jr. was recently cast as 5-year-old Wesley Walker, one of two Black Muppet characters brought on as part of "The ABCs of Racial Literacy" series. In his first digital segment for the PBS show, Wesley and his father, Elijah, have a conversation with Elmo on Black identity. 

"Sesame Street" has a history of breaking down tough conversations to encourage conversation between kids and parents. The recent social justice movement inspired the long-running program's "Coming Together" initiative, a push to create resources for children to learn about these issues in an age-appropriate way. The 22-year-old puppeteer says being a part of that conversation with the legendary PBS show isn't just a dream come true. As a person of color, doing this work means a lot.

"People would bear their prejudices on me and it was not fun, and I was confused," Freeman said. "Wes is just as confused as I am. Why would you treat somebody that way because they look differently? With the beautiful way that Sesame's writing these scripts, Wes and I are able to go through that."

Freeman said segments like his were born out of research done by Sesame Workshop. They found that introducing these topics to children early on and inspiring conversation is the best way to help end these problems in the future.

"We can't just not talk about a problem and expect it to go away. We have to actively combat the problem," Freeman said. "That means we have to teach kids about race, we have to have that conversation very early on so that they know some people look different from you and that does not mean they have any less value from you, it just means they have more melanin."

Wesley and his dad teach Elmo how melanin makes people's skin, eyes and hair different shades. 

"Sesame Street" is also currently developing the character Naomi, Wesley's mother, for future episodes.