Sesame Street denounced for racism in Philadelphia


Rosita’s character in the park Sesame Street of Philadelphia has been accused of being racist because he allegedly refused to greet two African-American girls while walking and waving as part of the site’s attractions.

Walking fast in the parade, Rosita, the blue character of the veteran American television show, shook hands with a young white woman and not with the girls who were next to her and made gestures to hug her, which is why the artist has been accused of being racist. behind the character and the brand.

The video was published by the mother of one of the girls and immediately went viral to the point that Sesame Street issued a statement apologizing.

“I’m going to keep posting this, because I’m pissed. We were leaving the park of Sesame Street and the girls wanted to stop to see the characters. This disgusting person blatantly told our daughters NO and then proceeded to hug the white girl next to us!” Accused the woman identified as Jodi Brown.

She went on to recount that “then when I went to complain, they looked at me like I was crazy. I asked the lady who the character was and she wanted to see a supervisor and she said she didn’t know! I’ll never set foot in the park again!” of Sesame Street!”.

The Sesame Street statement

The AP agency reports that in an initial statement, sent on Sunday, Sesame Place said that the park and its employees support “inclusion and equality in all its forms.”

The statement also noted that performers are sometimes unable to honor hug requests because the costumes they wear make it difficult for them to see smaller heights.

“The artist in the Rosita outfit did not intentionally ignore the girls and is devastated by the misunderstanding.”the statement said.

However, many people expressed their outrage online and some called for a boycott of the amusement park.

The park issued a second statement on Monday apologizing again and vowing he would take action to “improve.” Among the efforts will be inclusion trainings for its employees.

Both statements and the video sparked a harsh response on social media, which B’Ivory LaMarr, the family’s attorney, said helped shine a spotlight on “the existence of these issues.”

“A lot of African-Americans tend to become very passive because unfortunately we are used to dealing with this type of racism in various spaces,” he said.

Sesame Place has been the official amusement park of “Sesame Street” for more than four decades since its inception. inauguration in 1980.

“One would expect a reputable and respected organization like Sesame Street and Sesame Place to endorse those principles and values ​​that they portray,” LaMarr said. “Instead, what this family saw was a company responding in a very dismissive way to the damage that was caused.”

The family’s attorney, B’Ivory LaMarr, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the family is shocked and disturbed by the incident and “the damage done to their daughters.”

Source-www.diariolibre.com