Sesame Place is supposed to be one of the most welcoming theme park experiences on Earth for kids. It doesn’t matter if your child is differently abled, or what color their skin is. That said, this week, the park has had to issue a formal apology to a family who visited their Philadelphia establishment.
A now viral video was posted, featuring “Sesame Street” character Rosita interacting with the crowd during a parade. You see Rosita go from holding hands with one child to using her hand to wave off two Black children. According to the original Instagram post, Rosita continued on past the Black children, and gave the next White child a big hug.
It’s unfortunate this has to be said but this is not OK.
While Sesame Place issued a statement about Rosita’s hand gesture not being meant for the girls in question, it’s all about perception. Those kids got their hearts broken, and that’s not something that can easily be fixed. Because of the timing and the angle of Rosita’s face, many viewers are seeing a racially-motivated event.
To remedy this situation, Sesame Place has invited __jodiii__ to come to a special meet and greet, and offered an explanation as to what was really going on.
It’s such a shame because kids are only this age once. There’s a golden time when you want to show your children the magic of things and to have it ruined by something like this is completely disheartening.
