CBeebies presenter Ben Cajee praised for teaching kids about being mixed race
Children's TV presenter and CBeebies star Ben Cajee has received a wealth of praise after speaking out about what its like to be mixed race as part of CBeebies Black History Month programming. Ben began by talking about his parents, explaining that his Mum is white and was born near Coventry and how his Dad was born in London and is Black. Cajee then went on to describe a list of attributes he inherited from each of them, including supporting West Ham Football Club which he gets from his Father and the fact he's always on time which he claimed to have got from his Mother.
The 32 year old who was born in Ipswich has been presenting on the children's channel since 2015, beginning the programme that aired earlier this week by saying “We have been friends for a really, really long time, so I thought I would tell you a bit about me and my family.” He then went on to express how "Sometimes people have been unkind about what I look like and the colour of my skin but I try to forget about those people and instead focus on the people who are there for me and who supported me." The overall message of the discussion being the importance of being kind and being proud of who you are, what you look like and where you come from - A message that's not only important for children to remember but adults too.
Ben's heartfelt message his since gone viral, with thousands of people taking to social media to congratulate him for teaching kids about a topic as important as race in such a clear and poignant manner. One user wrote "My eldest daughter is four in two days she has been having conversations with us about racism and what to do if she sees people being unkind. I'm so glad she has resources like this that can help us have those talks with her. Fantastic work." However, not only Ben but the CBeebies network as a whole has come under praise for the content they have been providing on the channel in honour of Black History Month to help educate children surrounding race, equality and Black history.
You can watch Ben's speech by clicking here!