Sesame Place is taking action after the Philly park was hit with a huge lawsuit for its alleged racism!
As you know, the children’s theme park came under fire last month when a video went viral showing mascots seemingly ignoring two young Black girls during a parade while continuing to pay attention to white children. The poor girls looked so disappointed — rightfully so! Meeting your childhood heroes and having them seemingly brush you off to pay attention to other children of a different race has to be crushing!
Related: Kelly Rowland ‘Livid’ As Videos Of Mistreated Black Children Go Viral!
The mother, Instagram user @__jodiii__ , posted the video which then started a trend of many others coming forward and sharing their own stories at the Sesame! See the original video (below):
Now, amid the scandal and a huge class-action lawsuit filed against them, Sesame Place has implemented a “diversity program” for its employees. In a public statement on Tuesday, the park said:
“Sesame Place today announced a series of initiatives as part of an expansion of its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Initiatives include a comprehensive racial equity assessment, the development and implementation of an anti-bias training and education program, and enhancements to ensure a best-in-class diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) program. This work will be overseen by national experts.”
Wow…
According to their plan, “the racial equity assessment will include a review of policies, processes, and practices that impact guests, employees, suppliers, and the community to identify opportunities for improvement”. And the experts they are working with will supposedly continue to “monitor” in order to make sure the park progresses “toward established goals”. Existing employees aren’t the only ones who will go through this training, as the theme park says they’re going to implement these guidelines for all new employees, too!
Cathy Valeriano, President of Sesame Park Philadelphia assures the company is “committed” to making sure all guests “feel welcome”:
“The actions we are taking will help us deliver on our promise to provide an equitable and inclusive experience for all our guests every day. We are committed to making sure our guests feel welcome, included and enriched by their visits to our park.”
What do U think of the new training program, Perezcious readers? Sound OFF in the comments (below).
[Image via YouTube/Sesame Street/CBS Philly]
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