Baltimore Family Files Multimillion-Dollar Lawsuit Against Sesame Place

Sesame Place Baltimore Family Atty. Malcolm Ruff Atty. William Murphy U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania racial discrimination Black children discrimination

By Camille Hutchison , Parent Herald Aug 01, 05:03 am

A Baltimore family filed a class-action lawsuit that cited pervasive and appalling race discrimination at a Sesame Street-themed amusement park for costumed employees' alleged pattern of snubbing Black Children.

The federal lawsuit filed at the Eastern District of Pennsylvania seeks class-action status. It argued that Quinton Burns' daughter and other Black guests were ignored during a June 18 meet-and-greet event at the amusement park by four costumed employees dressed as various Sesame Street characters.

The suit seeks $25m in damages from SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment, the owner of Sesame Place in Philadelphia. According to the lawsuit, SeaWorld's performers readily engaged with numerous similarly situated white customers. Plaintiffs in the suit want the park to implement mandated cultural sensitivity classes and courses about the history of discrimination, per NBC News.

Children snubbed due to the color of their skin

The lawsuit came after a viral video showed two young black girls at Sesame Place Philadelphia being ignored by an employee dressed as the Sesame Street character, Rosita.

In the nine-second video, which was extensively shared, the employee high-fived a white child and woman but gestured no and ignored the two Black girls who had their arms outstretched for a high-five.

Another video showed the employee hugging another white child after ignoring the two girls. The video caused widespread outrage, with many calling for a boycott of the amusement park and the dismissal of the Rosita performer.

According to William Murphy, a lawyer representing the family, racism is horrible when perpetrated against adults, but it's in a separate category altogether of horror when it's done against kids.

The lawsuit is still unclear on how many other people could join it. Burns did not immediately respond to a request for comment. During a press conference held on Wednesday, one of the family's attorneys, Malcolm Ruff, called for transparency from SeaWorld and for the company to compensate the Burns family, per AP News.

Displayed racial discrimination against young girls

The suit claimed that Sesame Place violated section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which protects people against racial discrimination in creating and enforcing contracts. Ruff said that when the family bought tickets, they entered a contract with the amusement park, and by allegedly being discriminated against by costume character actors, the contract was breached solely due to the children's race.

The park said in a statement that they sincerely and wholeheartedly apologize to the family for what they experienced.

It further stated, "What the two young girls and the family experienced is unacceptable. It happened in the park with their team, and they're owning it as it is their responsibility to make it much better for the children and the family and to be better for all families."

The park said it would implement mandatory bias training so the employees can better recognize, understand, and deliver an inclusive, equitable, and entertaining experience for all guests.

The park added, "we have already engaged with nationally recognized experts in this area."

The legal team representing the family of the two girls in the video has called for the costumed performer to be fired, per ABC News.