That being said, we're very regimented in screen time. My son maybe gets 20-30 minutes of TV time per day. We've also changed the format where each family member gets a turn to pick what to watch so we can expose him to more things.
I take issue with what you say here:
a> It was by no means ignoring the other-side of this
No racist ideas ever appeared on the show. That is the definition of "ignoring the [racist] side of this."
Ignoring != suppressing. Ignoring thoroughly debunked and discredited notions is healthy, and universal. NASA isn’t suppressing flat Earthers by not presenting their views alongside their scientific discoveries. It’s the job of the flat Earthers to present their own ideas, not act as social and intellectual parasites while crying that others aren’t carrying their weight for them. Mr. Rogers, on his own show, presented his own views, and that isn’t “suppressing” anything either.
> Eschew flamebait. Don't introduce flamewar topics unless you have something genuinely new to say. Avoid unrelated controversies and generic tangents.
As I remember it, there were quite a few episodes where race was dealt with indirectly. By that I mean, the idea of difference would constantly come up in regards to things like the clothes people were wearing, or characters who wore glasses or not, etc.
Treating people the same regardless of differences was a constant theme of the show from my memory. Helping people, not holding them back. It was by no means ignoring the other-side of this, it just took the unapologetic stance that there is only one proper way to treat people, and wouldn't it be great if we could all live that way everyday?