Sesame Place at theme park in Philadelphia, PA expands commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion announced Tuesday, weeks after's video went viral,characters appearing inberating black families.
This Sesame Street-based theme park brings together experts from across the country to develop and implement comprehensive race equality assessments, anti-bias training and education programs, and best-in-class diversity. enhancements to ensure fairness, fairness and inclusiveness.”
That was after Jody Brown posted the video on July 16th. The video showed someone dressed as Rosita's character petting her two black daughters during a parade.
Separately, Quinton Burns filed a $25 million federal civil rights lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania . The Sesame Street character ignored his daughter, a five-year-old black daughter named Kennedy Barnes. accusing the characters of ignoring black children and "openly interacting with white children in similar situations".
Sesame Place issued multiple apology statements. First, Rosita's character "didn't intentionally ignore the girl and is devastated about misunderstanding her," and then later in a follow-up statement. Equity training is provided.
Under a series of initiatives announced Tuesday, Sesame Place will "review the policies, processes and practices that affect our guests, employees and suppliers." It will undergo a species equality assessment. And the community identifies opportunities for improvement.
All Park employees will also participate in a "substantial training and educational program" on diversity and inclusion by the end of next month.
Kathy Valeriano, president of Sesame Place Philadelphia, said, "The actions we are taking help us deliver on our promise to provide a fair and inclusive experience for all of our guests every day.
"We are committed to ensuring that our guests feel welcomed, included and enriched by their visit to our parks."
Sesame Place did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
