Exclusive: ACLU Animator Dishes on New Series That Educates Kids on Their Constitutional Rights

At a time when many Americans feel their constitutional rights are at risk, a new animated series aims to spark conversation among young people and reshape their understanding of politics.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has just launched a children’s series, “Know Your Rights University,” designed for viewers of all ages. The first episode, “You Have a Right to Speak Your Mind,” premiered on Thursday (April 23). The short follows characters Lisa and Aaron as they learn about the First Amendment and how it applies to students nationwide.

Brandon Lake, the lead animator and voice of Mr. C on the show, spoke with The Root about how his background helped shape the project. As a first-generation Caribbean American, he grew up surrounded by storytelling.

“Everyone’s got jokes and stories to tell– most of them tall tales– but it really helped form the foundation of how I look at the world,” Lake said. As a father, he knew that the series should resonate with parents and caregivers as well as young viewers.

“Being a parent myself, I know we sit through a lot of children’s programming, and some of it is geared toward parents, and some is entirely just for kids,” he said. “We want parents to be engaged in this content. We also want to use [KYR-U] as a jumping-off point. We want it to spark questions in kids.”

From tackling the landmark Tinker v. Des Moines case, which determined that student speech is protected under the First Amendment, to breaking down the meaning of symbolic speech, the first episode of KYR-U covered quite a bit of ground in just under six minutes. To those who might wonder whether the content is too mature for young children, the animator told us that children are way more perceptive than they are often given credit for.

“We kind of take for granted how much kids already know and how much they’re listening, how much they intake. They may not understand everything yet, but they are so curious,” he pointed out. “Whether or not they might learn perfectly how a bill becomes a law through the three branches, we want the idea to be there in their head.”

Lake credited “School House Rock,” the animated kids’ show covering topics from civics to technology to the bop of catchy rock songs, as part of his inspiration behind KYR-U. After School House Rock ended in 2004, a gap was left in educational programs dedicated to children. Now, the ALCU is working to change that with Know Your Rights University.

“It just felt like this is a perfect time for us as an organization. We’ve always wanted to do something like this. We wanted to do more proactive education versus just reactionary,” Lake continued. “We know that the best way for all of us to help our country move forward is to keep asking questions and to have that understanding of ‘Never forget, you have rights.’”

Future episodes are set to address topics like book bans and the Constitution. As the country heads into another election cycle, the series aims to give young viewers a clearer understanding of the political system they will eventually take part in.

“There’s a ton of knowledge within this house,” Lake said of the ACLU. “No matter how much a kid’s head is put down, they still see the world around them. In a time where you might feel like some things might be out of your control, we wanted you to know that there are rights that exist.”