Here’s Why ‘Sesame Street’ Theme Park Sesame Place Is Coming Under Fire For Alleged Racism

The theme park was sued for $25 million for alleged race discrimination after a Black child was ignored by characters at the park.

A lawsuit was filed by a parent after his child and other black kids were ignored by Sesame Street characters during a meet and greet in June.

All Black guests who were discriminated against at Sesame Place at any point after July 27, 2018?

The complaint accuses the theme park of not adequately training their performers and of hiring them despite their alleged racial biases.

The lawsuit was filed after a different family shared a video on July 16 showing the character Rosita snubbing two young Black girls and gesturing "no" when they asked for a hug, which went viral and drew widespread attention.

The Congressional Black Caucus requested a meeting with Sesame Place's president about the park's practices after a video was shared showing similar incidents involving Black children at the theme park.

The park is committed to deliver an inclusive, equitable and entertaining experience for all of its guests, as well as issuing multiple apologies regarding the initial video that went viral.

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Billy Murphy, who is representing the Burns family in its class action suit, said at a press conference that they are here to make sure that justice is done to the families who did not have the experience that they paid for. They did not get the experience they paid for because of their race.

Chief Critic

Three separate apologies have been issued by Sesame Place in the wake of the initial video. The company initially claimed that the performer did not ignore the girls, but instead gestured "no" at someone in the crowd who was asking the character to hold their child. Sesame Place apologized and promised to conduct additional employee training after it came under fire. It apologized again on July 21 and said it was the park's responsibility to improve. Sesame Place said that what the two young girls experienced was unacceptable. We own that and it happened in our park.

Surprising Fact

Sesame Place, which is located in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, is not owned or operated by Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization that produces Sesame Street, but rather the characters are licensed out to Sea World. Sesame Workshop denounced the alleged racism displayed in the video and said it was in touch with Sesame Place to make sure appropriate actions are taken and that incidents like this don't happen in the future.

What To Watch For

The lawsuit wants the theme park to pay $25 million in damages, as well as for the court to order the park to make an "unconditional apology" to the black community. Sesame Place should implement mandatory racial sensitivity training and education for employees, as well as develop better screening methods for candidates with racial biases, according to the lawsuit.

A class action lawsuit has been filed against the park.

The family is calling for action following the snub.

Philadelphia called on the park owners to turn the incident into ateachable moment.

The new video surfaces in the Sesame Place controversy.

The president of Sesame Place is being asked to meet with the Congressional Black Caucus.