That Time New York's Department of Education Decided to Teach Kids What an 'Oreo' Is
Friday A/V Club: Lessons in slang

For your "They Used to Do Children's Television Differently" files, here's a moment from the '70s show Vegetable Soup. Produced by the New York State Department of Education from 1975 to 1978, this multicultural-themed series aired on both PBS and NBC; the scene embedded below celebrates black slang. Not a bad idea for a segment. But at the 1:01 mark they casually throw in an expression that these days would've been vetoed long before the show got to air:
For the full episode, which originally aired in 1975, go here. For a nightmare-nostalgia look back at the surreal and disturbing side of the show, go here. For past editions of the Friday A/V Club, go here.
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Cringeworthy.
Like an episode of Peep Show?
Do you know what an 8-Ball is?
That one shocked me too, but apparently, it can also be "a pejorative term for a bald black person", which would fit in the context of this children's show, as opposed to the other meaning.
You don't even want to know what the 60's official Mississippi state-sponsored children's show on redneck slang looked like.
There were a lot of references to people who threw the javelin...
I knew a guy whose friends called him a mint oreo -- Martian on the inside. He was a classic eccentric of the best kind.
Oreo is just slang for race traitor, right?
My personal favorite definition comes from Hurley.
The creamy white inside is cultural appropriation.
Does the 1st Amendment cover speaking in public defense of Portuguese bakery products ?
Your tax dollars at work. Vote democrat.
That was back when Blackness wasn't just a social construct!
The pre-Dolenzol era.
She is a century egg.
BTW, My favorite part is the pimp @ 1:32.
Back in the 70's George Jefferson taught me that oreo was an inter-racial couple, on prime time TV no less.
Um, wouldn't it be an interracial threesome?
Ice cream sandwich.
Who doesn't like fried chicken and watermelon? Vegans? Peta? People need to loosen up. If you can't laugh at yourself or your group. ..... this lack of humor. ... it's a snowflake maker.
When are they gonna show the episode where they explain what a Cleveland steamer is?
Just looked that up; deep fetish country.
http://www.afrobella.com/2006/08/30/oreo-barbie/
That's a great way to teach kids. Many countries are using these teaching methods to teach the kids now.