Sesame Street theme park apologizes after mascot denies Black girls hugs

A Sesame Road-themed amusement park has apologized and promised extra coaching for its staff after a video exhibiting a costumed character waving off two six-year-old Black women throughout a parade went viral on-line.

The nine-second video, posted to Instagram on Saturday by Jodi Brown, the mom of one of many women, confirmed the character Rosita high-fiving a white youngster and girl, then gesturing “no” and strolling away from the 2 women who had their arms stretched out for a hug and high-five in the course of the parade at Sesame Place in Philadelphia.

“I’ll by no means step foot in @sesameplace ever once more,” Brown stated on-line.

The household’s lawyer, B’Ivory LaMarr, informed The Related Press on Tuesday that the household is appalled and disturbed by the incident and “the accidents propagated to their youngsters.”

In an preliminary assertion Sunday, Sesame Place stated the park and its staff stand for “inclusivity and equality in all varieties.” The assertion additionally famous that performers typically miss requests for hugs as a result of the costumes they put on make it troublesome to see at decrease ranges.

“The Rosita performer didn’t deliberately ignore the ladies and is devastated by the misunderstanding,” the assertion stated.

Requires boycott 

Nevertheless, many individuals expressed outrage on-line and a few known as for a boycott of the amusement park.

The park issued a second assertion Monday, apologizing once more and promising that it was “taking motion to do higher.” Amongst these efforts can be inclusivity coaching for workers.

Each statements and the video triggered a stark response on social media, which LaMarr stated helped shed a lightweight on “the existence of those points.”

“Lots of African Individuals are likely to grow to be very passive as a result of we sadly are accustomed to coping with such a racism in varied areas,” he stated.

Situated in Langhorne, a neighborhood in Philadelphia, Sesame Place has been the official Sesame Road theme park for greater than 4 many years. It opened in 1980.

“You’ll anticipate a good group the one as nicely revered as Sesame Road and Sesame Place to face on these ideas and values through which they painting,” LaMarr stated. “As an alternative, what this household noticed was an organization that comes out and so they’re very dismissive of the harms that had been induced.”