Jesse Jackson meets with Sesame Place operator after allegations of racial bias, including by Baltimore family
BALTIMORE -- The operators of Sesame Place announced new action this week to re-train employees after several parents alleged their children experienced racial discrimination at the theme park located outside of Philadelphia.
That includes a family from Baltimore who filed a $25 million lawsuit.
Reverend Jesse Jackson personally met with the CEO of SeaWorld, which runs Sesame Place on Thursday.
Jackson spoke briefly at a news conference in New York City Thursday evening about the "burden" the children will bear after being "singled out." He vowed to make sure the company enacts practices that stop any future discrimination.
In one video, a character greets a white child, but ignores Kennedi Burns, a Black 5-year-old girl from Baltimore. Her hand is outstretched, and she looks back at her dad in disappointment.
Moments later, another character high-fives white children, but has no interaction with Burns.
Burns' family filed the multimillion-dollar class-action lawsuit in federal court with the Baltimore-based law firm of Billy Murphy, who has taken on many high-profile cases.
"Just looking at her face, it makes me want to cry when I see it," Kennedi's father Quinton Burns said at a news conference last month.
The Baltimore family was not listed as being part of the meetings with SeaWorld management Thursday.
In a separate case not part of the Burns' family lawsuit, a character interacts with a white family, but waves off two Black children, Jodi Brown's young daughter and niece.
Brown was scheduled to meet with lawyers from SeaWorld Thursday. Her lawyer, B'Ivory LaMarr, said "mere words" are not enough from theme park management and he wanted to see meaningful actions.
Sesame Place has issued several statements since the incidents came to light. The park first said the characters could not see the children through their costumes. Sesame Place later apologized.
This week, the theme park announced in an effort to make amends new anti-bias training for all staff that will be completed by the end of September.
"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," wrote Cathy Valeriano, President of Sesame Place Philadelphia.
That federal lawsuit brought by the family from Baltimore is still active.
Lawyer Billy Murphy previously said his client's young daughter suffered lasting trauma.
"We are here to make sure some justice is done for the families who did not have the experience they paid to get because of their race," Murphy said in July.
His office did not return WJZ's request for comment Thursday.
