Sesame Street - Roosevelt Franklin's picture story

[cstoczyn]

GADZOOKS!!!!

[cstoczyn]

HUZZAH!!!!

[cstoczyn]

FTW

[cstoczyn]

OMG!

[cstoczyn]

Roosevelt Franklin Elementary School

LOL

[cstoczyn]

RIP Matt Robinson

[sneezepal]

Roosevelt Franklin rocked. Political correctness killed off a lot of cool stuff like this.

[cstoczyn]

@sneezepal I Know

[cathybrealtor]

@UnicornUnicron, yes, there was an episode where one of the kids was sad about something but didn't want to cry cause it wasn't cool...

[cstoczyn]

@cathybrealtor You Mean The One With Suzetta,

Who Is Upset, Because Henry Called Her A

"Cantaloupe Head"

[adikshlemarc]

IT AINT EASY BEING BLACK, IT AINT EASY BEING WHITE

[cstoczyn]

@adikshlemarc Doesn't Matter

[cathybrealtor]

Does anyone have the clip where one of the kids kept saying, "I am too cool to cry"?

[UnicornUnicron]

@cathybrealtor whaaat!!! hahahahaha

[cstoczyn]

@UnicornUnicron LMMO!

[cstoczyn]

@cathybrealtor I Don't

[Landaux]

Ill never forget after seeing this and having the "Bo bo bo BONE" beat stuck in my head.. I went into the nieghbors backyard where they had 3 labradors. The family had a big steak dinner, and the dad thew out a "Bo bo bo BONE" to one of them. I then took it after one dropped it, then threw it to see them chase it. Then SUDDENLY a huge DOG FIGHT broke out over the "Bo bo bo BONE!" The dad comes out and breaks it up by kicking them. The whole time "Bo Bo Bo Bone" was stuck in my head lol!

[Garrettk41]

That Green girl next to Hardhead is kind of cute.

[muppetlover16]

@Garrettk41 I think so too! BTW CTW needs to bring back the musical greats like RF, Bip Bippadotta, the Monotones, etc., but since we're living in modern times it's pretty "Elmo's World" domination from here on out, how I despise the little red demon

[Garrettk41]

@muppetlover16 I agree, a lot of the great stuff is missing from Sesame Street today. And what's still there isn't so great anymore. Though, for the reccord, it's political correctness I hate, not Elmo.

[muppetlover16]

@Garrettk41 Yeah and if they brought him back (which is unlikely) maybe Kevin Clash could perform him (listen to Roosevelt Franklin Counts, Matt Robinson sounds like Kevin Clash there, I swear it's true

[cstoczyn]

@muppetlover16 BRING BACK ROOSEVELT FRANKLIN!!!!

[muppetlover16]

@cstoczyn Yes and Same Sound Brown too

[muppetlover16]

@cstoczyn Northern Calloway also voiced The Hipster in Visual Thinking and one of the kids in the song "Beep!" (the other was Jerry Nelson)

btw what happens if it's a really big number like one gazillion and two, how many beeps is that?

[cstoczyn]

@muppetlover16 I Know That Sketch!

[cstoczyn]

@Garrettk41 I Understand

[cstoczyn]

@muppetlover16 GO ELMO!!!!

[muppetlover16]

@cstoczyn Long Live Kevin Clash, Kingston Livingston III was his best character IMHO

[muppetlover16]

@cstoczyn "In my own honest opinion"

[cstoczyn]

@muppetlover16 Thanks

[Romelus69]

I remember this episode!!!!! Roosevelt was rapping early...lol

[SethBlizzard]

This is gonna sound incredibly politically correct of me, but why do so many people assume dogs like to eat bones? Think about it; bones aren't exactly nutritious. The reason bones came to be associated with dogs is because dogs were traditionally underfed and they ate the table scraps they were given for all their worth, including the little meat they could scrape off the bones.

[Callmarcus77]

@SethBlizzard Dogs chew on bones to sharpen their teeth and remove plaque. It also goes back to the days when dogs (or wolves) lived in packs and ate the marrow from bones for extra nutrition.

[Azizip17]

I admit that the behaviour of these students (throwing paper planes and talking out in class) doesn't reflect well on urban schools. If Sesame Street brought those characters back, I'd really want that to change, & better model good urban schools. And it would be great if the school was integrated. However, there still are lots of urban schools which aren't integrated, & unfortunately, some students act like this in classes with teachers who don't have good classroom management skills.

[Azizip17]

The intro & ending song & the music that's heard when Roosevelt Franklin appears are examples of these segments' creative musicality.. I Love it! Next to Roosevelt Franklin, my favorite characters in those segments are Hard Head Henry Harris & Smarttina. Even those names are creative & rhythmical, though I admit that a teacher (if that's what Roosevelt is) would be in trouble nowadays if he called a student "hard headed". I really wish Sesame Street would bring these characters back..

[Azizip17]

I LOVE Roosevelt Franklin, & I particularly love this segment. As a storyteller, I want to mention that the participatory way of telling the "big ole bone in the doghouse" story sone in a traditional way that goes all the way back to Africa. This is pure art. I've noted the jazzy/hip musicality of the other Roosevelt Franklin segments & I've commented elsewhere about the afros these characters wore.. They predate the now viral SS "I Love My Hair" video that compliments "Black hair" styles.

[steventean]

what kind of dino would henry b?

[daniyellowjello]

Was this done at the time of segregation?

[steventean]

idk

[Azizip17]

@daniyellowjello I think this was first aired in 1972-1973. FYI, many urban schools in the USA are still segregated by race (because of neighborhood segregation). I've read articles that indicate there's more racial/ethnic segregation in the North than in the South. Most of the public schoois where I live (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-which is more the Midwest than the North) are segregated because the neighborhoods from which students feed to the schools are mostly segregated.

[thefirefighter2011]

@Azizip17

got anymore of these classic sesame street Roosevelt Franklin Elementary School skits including a girl muppet hit her head on the desk accidently that needs to be added here?

[Azizip17]

@thefirefighter2011 I'm not the uploader of this video, I just like watching it,

[wallofvideo]

hard-head henry harris is the same color as fat blue (grover's waiter in various sketches). and yet i've always been under the impression that fat blue is "white" and henry harris is "Black." i guess race truly is socially constructed.

[cookie1176]

That was too cute and funny.

[peabody66]

The song about the bone kinda sounds like a rap song.

[buzzlewie]

Big ol bone in the doghouse, all alone in the doghouse

[KeneshaCoulibaly]

Ya'll remember Roosevelt Franklin? lol You simply cannot separate music from education.

I was on Riki Tiki Tembo and the racism in it. Then I went on a quest to find Roosevelt Franklin's counting song that Ma brought to my attention. Notice the black-eyed-peas comment at the end of this video. I've got to find the counting song. I need to cop his album.

[kelime]

This was my favorite Roosevelt Franklin episode. Haven't seen it in over 30 years! Thank you jonnytbird!

[metalslut1]

"Roosevelt Franklin" (Blue Dude with the funky glasses): "Baaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!"

"Elementary School, Elementary School."

[afistfulofclips]

i hear the influence of the Last Poets.

[Yangtze331]

I swear "Hard Head Henry Harris" is the best person on You Tube - he rocks!

[unlimitedmagic]

I love Roosevelt Franklin! Why can't I find the song "RF How Old Are You?"

[TelephoneRock4ever]

Now, this is an excellent story, telling kids to not take something that isn't theirs. I'm assuming the little ones learn better with pictures, huh? Roosevelt knew what he was doing.

I heard a little gospel influence when the story started!

[JANUSonTheATTACK]

I think this was where learned that stealing was wrong... that was a big-assed dog! LoL!

[Yangtze331]

This is just the best - to ditch him for reasons of political correctness is just wrong - they guy is brilliant!

[jmkaye00]

Roosevelt Franklin was so awesome they had to name the whole school after him.

[cstoczyn]

@jmkaye00 WAY COOL!!!!

[ali123allie]

Wow I almost forgot this one... this rare stuff is good. Pity SS isn't like this anymore, but I'm too old anyway ;)

[1RichardHunt]

I know Roosevelt's voice was provided by Matt Robinson, but the way the puppets seems to be in perfect sync with the dialogue makes me wonder.

Could Matt Robinson have also been performing the muppet himself besides doing the voice?

I'm wondering the same thing about Roscoe Orman as Hard Head Henry Harris, because his lines also looked like they were coming directly from his muppeteer.

[CaptMARNEY]

@1RichardHunt That's exactly right- the puppeteers always provide the voice while they puppeteer unless it's a pre-recorded song. Then they lip-sync their puppets to it.

[greedygretch]

Tupac didn't have jack on this dude!!

[stalzz]

Absolutely the first rapper!

[nicsye12]

roosevelt franklin was the first rapper ever

[hbcukid]

I remember this! I loved these!

[delidude1999]

i see nothing racist with this

[yummieyummie123]

i kno, right? i wish i had this as a kid...

[strandenous]

Could someone post the lyrics?

It is difficult for a non-native speaker to understand. This is wonderful. Thanks

[humbleonewlp]

Hey this is the first rap! Go on ahead Roosevelt Franklin. I loved this as a child.

[Tuberman67]

He's saying "Here I come here I come here I come, here I come, here I come, here I am."

[Tuberman67]

He's saying "Here I come, here I come, here I come"

[orthofox]

THIS IS BRILLIANT! Does anyone know what Roosevelt is saying at the beginning before he says "here I am!" Hilarious

[Pooleman96]

I think he's saying "Here I come, here I come" before realizing he's there.

[LatashaTrueHeart]

Man, that Roosevelt Franklin had SPUNK! That kid was str8 funky! I like it!

[Pooleman96]

Man, that Roosevelt Franklin is one hip Muppet! Elmo should take some pointers from this guy, that way people who grew up with Sesame Street won't hate him as much!

[chelcie3]

thank you THANK YOU!! I've been waiting for this one to show up. My father and I just had a big laugh remembering this.

[moesrecordlove]

Roosie Franklin is the greatest of all time!

[ITucker29]

They need to bring this brother back!!

[kll510]

wow this was rap before rap was even known. That's cool. I liked the beat and the story when I was a little kid.

[QBCNetwork]

There was one where the shaded dude played the snare drum with brushes on his desk.

Does anyone remember that?

[TelephoneRock4ever]

Yeah, that skit was called "Bad Luck to Be Born a Duck". It's in my favorites.

[pinhim]

Check out the end when he says: "I got a big ole pot of black eyed peas waitin for me."

[CapricornSuave]

Yeah, I caught that too!

[thedrknghtno1]

man this was the times...and this song i use for young kids today....and it still teaches a good lesson...

[ISNorden]

Haven't seen this one in forever; thank you for finding it!

[oclandestin]

So was Roosevelt Franklin the pioneer of rap? Great clip.

[MIKECNW]

It's possible but then again there could of been others at that time as well.

[MIKECNW]

I don't seem to recall the outro part.

Didn't they use the same school building that was seen in the Ghostwriter series?

[culpit]

I had forgotten about this neat skit. Seeing it again sparked a memory. Thank you for posting. :)

[datmancalledwhw]

It's only a matter of time now, before, once again, we hear Loretta Long saying those immortal words: "Mmmm-mmmm, Roosevelt Franklin sure doesn't know his NUMBERS."

Can I get an A-MEN?

[zhelder]

Absolutely...awesome!

Rapper's Delight wasn't the first rap song... this was! Anyone know what year this is from? I'm guessing '72 -'73.

[datmancalledwhw]

So, if Roosevelt was actually the first rappin' M.C., does that make Hard-Headed Henry Harris the "original" human beat box"?

Could be that fellow who calls himself Doug E. Fresh might have some explaining to do, eh?

[cstoczyn]

@datmancalledwhw IDK

[MarshalGrover]

This must be an early skit, since it's an outro