Sesame Workshop, the non-profit organization that operates Sesame Street, said it would “run bias training and a comprehensive review of the ways in which families and guests are engaged “at Sesame Place following a video of An incident of potential racial bias has spread on the Internet.
“As a global, non-profit educational organization with a mission to help children become smarter, stronger, and kinder, Sesame Workshop has always stood for respect, inclusion and belonging and is committed to providing the highest quality of interactive experiences for all children and families,” He said in a statement.
In a video posted to Twitter, two young black girls at Sesame Place Philadelphia excitedly waved and raised their arms as an actor dressed as Rosita approached.
Sesame Street’s character Rosita interacts as people watch a show at Sesame Place theme park, on July 21, 2018 in Langhorne, Pennsylvania.
Helen89 / shutterstock, file
Five-year-old Rosetta Park walks the line, before appearing shaking her head and guiding the two girls away from them.
#BabyPaige And she and her cute friends went to SesamePlace this weekend to celebrate Paige’s 4th birthday And this is how #SesamePlace treated these beautiful black kids,” a tweet posted by The girl’s apparent aunt celebrates her birthdayread.
“While we hate to speculate and consider ‘race’ as the motivating factor, which would explain the actions of the performer, such actions before and after the arrival of young girls only leads to one conclusion,” said attorney B Ivory Lamar. representing the family.
He continued, “Although Sesame Place claims to advocate for inclusivity and equality, this was not proven last Saturday. We are currently investigating this incident and will exercise every possible legal remedy to further protect this family.”
Rosetta, the Muppets character from Sesame Street, looks at her during an event in Washington, D.C., on November 29, 2021.
Andrew Caballero Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
An online outcry ensued, with more footage of similar incidents with park personalities being posted online in response to the viral video. Calls to boycott Sesame Place are growing on social media.
Sesame Place Philadelphia A statement was issued about the accidentsaying, “We know it’s not okay. We are taking action to do better. We are committed to getting it right.”
The park said it will conduct staff training to provide an “inclusive, equitable and entertaining” experience for park-goers.
Sesame Place is an authorized partner of Sesame Workshop.
ABC News’s Sabina Gebremedhin and Kendall Ross contributed to this report.
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