Sesame Place Accused of Racism
Sesame Place, a theme and waterpark for children located in Philadelphia, recently received accusations of racism. A video released by a mother of two Black children, who were watching the Sesame Place parade, were blatantly ignored by one of the characters. Moreover, this video reminds us that even in 2022, we are still fighting the disease that is racism.
The video depicts one of Sesame Place’s characters walking down the street and giving out high fives to white children and one white adult. However, the character clearly ignores the two Black girls and gestures “no” at them.
According to CNN, the mother of the two children who posted the video stated “This is disgusting, I will never go to Sesame Place ever again!”.
Recurring Racism
Furthermore, many videos have resurfaced of Sesame Place discriminating against young Black children. A new Twitter thread commented on another video that surfaced of a character dancing and ignoring the Black children but giving hugs to the white children.
Sesame Place Apology
Sesame Place has recently apologized after the video resurfaced. The statement read: “We sincerely apologize to the family for their experience on Saturday. We know that it is not ok. “We are actively working to improve. Our dedication to making things right is unwavering. We will provide comprehensive training to our employees, enabling them to gain a deeper understanding, recognize, and provide an inclusive, fair, and enjoyable experience for our valued guests.”
Many individuals have flocked to the social media accounts of Sesame Place to share their opinions on the matter. Shaun King stated “None of us believe your statement. You are going to have to try again.”
People have pressured Sesame Place to take accountability for their employees actions. Additionally, many celebrities including Kelly Rowland, have expressed their disapproval of Sesame Place after the incident.
Additionally, many individuals have taken this opportunity to show that the Sesame Place incident is not new. Keith Boykin posted a video on Twitter of a white children’s baseball coach shoving the all-Latino team while the team’s high-fived one another. Boykin stated: “Harris County Sergeant Kenneth Wendt refused to shake hands with an all-Latino Little League team after the team he was coaching lost a game.These types of incidents happen every day and never make the news or social media”.
Moreover, the Sesame Place incident has opened up another conversation about this act of racism and many like it. Additionally, while the Sesame Place team promised to bias workshop their employees, many people have expressed that it won’t be enough.
So, what will we do about this?
Moreover this incident and many like it often go unnoticed yet these acts of blatant racism happen everyday. It should be noted that even in the year 2022, young Black girls are discriminated against. The only way to consistently fight these issues is to shed light on them.
Moreover, this is not just another news story, this is what everyday looks like for many Black individuals in America. These acts of racism can’t be swept under the rug and we can’t be so easy to forgive the institutions responsible.
Along with this, we should be using social media as a tool to protest and stand against these recurring instances. By doing so, we can hold individuals accountable for their unacceptable actions.
We need to hold Sesame Place and other discriminatory institutions accountable for their actions in order to enact change. Sadly, the Sesame Place incident may not be the last.
Children are precious. Childhood trauma sucks. It’s caused by yet another disease- an unclean heart. So, what could have been a super cool adventure to those two children (of color), turned out to be and sadly, probably not the first, another trauma incident involving “rejection” but rejection of the worst kind, truly personal in that IT IS about skin color, ethnic background. Yes, It’s straight up wrong what that employee did as well as the other employees cited in the article. Real question is, who is truly responsible for stopping this type of behavior from infecting subsequent generations of people, who were once all innocent children who were eventually wounded deeply as a result of another’s actions, non-actions, words or hands (time after time): wrong use of one’s free will choice? The macro level, the “Institutions” have a major responsibility by the mere fact that they are in the “leadership” position as they have employees under them and are therefore held at a higher standard of expectation. It behooves them at the very least to “do the right thing” and train their employees accordingly, including effective discipline and termination as necessary! And on the micro level, the “Individual” has a responsibility to “do the right thing” (or at least we hope that he/she would do so) because of… Karma, you know, the principle of “sowing and reaping.” It’s all to me, a sign of a worldly kind of world rearing it’s very ugly head, in a place that should be safe and sweet for those who are there. Stop causing trauma for others- just stop it! Treat others as you would want to be treated and darn it… LEAVE THE CHILDREN ALONE!
Great article! I hate the issue though. Poor kids!
Microaggressions like these are sadly the very tip of the iceberg for a racist (among other things) culture that celebrates violence against certain ethnic groups.
Disappointed with Sesame Place and many other institutions practicing the same behaviors.