For nearly twenty-five years, Mayerson’s ongoing series My American Dream (2000–) has investigated the intersections between America’s popular culture, the national landscape, and Mayerson’s own biography. My American Dream: On Sesame Street, Mayerson’s latest entry into this sprawling endeavor, centers on Jim Henson’s Muppets. 

Represented in the drawings on display at the Karma Bookstore are some of the best-known Muppet characters on Sesame Street: Kermit the Frog, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Ernie and Bert, the Count, Oscar the Grouch, Grover, Prairie Dawn, and Elmo. Created out of the ideologies of the Civil Rights movement, Sesame Street was conceived to educate children about kindness, compassion, and empathy, especially for those who aren’t “just like you.” Mayerson’s drawings of these characters honor the promise of equality embedded in Henson’s motley crew of puppets. “I was the perfect age for the Muppets,” writes Mayerson. “I remember watching Sesame Street when it first premiered on November 10, 1969, and being captivated . .  I fully matriculated to the Muppet Show when it came out in 1976. Instead of GI Joes and other gender-coded toys and action figures, I surrounded myself with puppets, enjoying playing with these more gender-fluid (and character-enhancing and enriching) avatars—that also engendered becoming an artist, creating cartoons, comics, and narrative art throughout my life.”