On July 23rd, 2022, Sesame Place made another statement to the Brown family after allegations of racial discrimination while two little Black girls were seen on video being allegedly ignored by the character Rosita while at the theme park last week. What was not seen in the video is that the character going on to hug another little white girl right beside them. Now let’s imagine how these two little girls felt after seeing that and if that were your child? The mental trauma that a child can go through is inconceivable. Unable to understand why they didn’t get a hug or a handshake? After that video went viral on social media, many other videos of black children receiving similar treatment began to surface, and the Black community is outraged! All children should be treated equally.
Sesame Place has made statements, but to many in the community, it is unacceptable and insufficient.
OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE JULY 23RD
“Sesame Place Philadelphia apologizes to the Brown family. The park is taking action to deliver a more equitable and inclusive experience. The park releases the following statement.”
“We sincerely and wholeheartedly apologize to the Brown family for what they experienced. To be very clear, what the two young girls experienced, what the family experienced, is unacceptable. It happened in our park, with our team, and we own that. It is our responsibility to make this better for the children and the family and to be better for all families.
We have been in contact with the family since Sunday morning and have spoken with their lawyers as recently as today. We have offered to meet the family and their attorneys in person to personally deliver an apology and an acknowledgement that we are holding ourselves accountable for what happened. We want to listen to them to understand how the experience impacted their family and to understand what we can do better for them and all guests who visit our parks. We are committed to learning all we can from this situation to make meaningful change. We want every child who comes to our park to feel included, seen and inspired.
We are taking action and are reviewing our practices to identify necessary changes, both in the immediate and long-term. We are instituting mandatory training for all our employees so that we can better recognize, understand, and deliver an inclusive, equitable and entertaining experience for all our guests. We have engaged with nationally recognized experts in this area.
We take this extremely seriously. We are heartbroken by what these young girls and this family experienced in our park. It is antithetical to our values, principles, and purpose. We are committed to working tirelessly and intentionally to make this situation better. We will do the necessary work for the long haul — not just in the public eye, but also behind the scenes and within ourselves.”
Do you think that Sesame Place delivered a sincere apology? Do you think this was an oversight by the performer in the costume or that Sesame Place should hold its employees accountable? There is a petition on Change.org. Hopefully, there is a change in how Sesame Place treats all the children and families while at the theme park.
No child should be disregarded and feel inferior, especially in a place that is supposed to embrace diversity while making it an educational, memorable, and fun experience.
SOURCE: Sesame Place, Instagram, Youtube
