Pearl From Steven Universe Drops Knowledge in Viral Systemic Racism PSA

Fans of the Cartoon Network show Steven Universe got a gift last week when CN dropped a new PSA (above) featuring their Little Homeschool teacher Pearl schooling us all about how systemic racism affects history books, and it's been getting a lot of attention on Twitter and TikTok.

"These textbooks are incomplete. There were Black roman warriors, Black medeival knights, Black classical musicians, Black cowboys, Black fighter pilots. Where are they?" Pearl asks.

"I worry about you humans because you only live, what, about 100 years? You rely on these stories to know your own history. Thanks to systemic racism, most of your storytellers prioritized White accomplishments, which leaves you with an incomplete picture. Ask yourself as you're learning history — who's telling the story? Was this modified to make White readers comfortable? Are major details being left out that would credit people of color and center their point of view?"

People are talking about Steven Universe in our forums. Join the conversation.

Andy Hunsaker has a head full of sitcom gags and nerd-genre lore, and can be followed @AndyHunsaker if you're into that sort of thing.