Caroll Spinney, the puppeteer who has portrayed Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on "Sesame Street" since the program's 1969 premiere, announced Wednesday that he is stepping down from the roles.

When I was a sheltered child, “Sesame Street,” soon to stream on Netflix, made racial diversity and kindness look like the way the rest of the world worked.

My parents read to me every night and bought me preschool workbooks. But the effect “Sesame Street” had on me was distinct from anything they could do.

When I was a sheltered child, “Sesame Street,” soon to stream on Netflix, made racial diversity and kindness look like the way the rest of the world worked.