Race in America

Black Family Sues Sesame Place, Alleging Discrimination

The Burns family is suing Sesame Place owner SeaWorld Parks for "pervasive and appalling race discrimination."

Black Family Sues Sesame Place, Alleging Discrimination
Jeff Chiu / AP
Article by AP
SMS
July 28, 2022

A Baltimore family is suing a Sesame Street-themed amusement park for $25 million over claims of racial discrimination, alleging multiple costumed characters ignored a 5-year-old Black girl during a meet-and-greet event last month.

The lawsuit comes in the wake of a video, shared widely on social media, showing two other Black girls apparently being snubbed by a costumed employee during a parade at the park in Langhorne, outside Philadelphia. Sesame Place apologized in a statement and promised more training for its employees after the video went viral earlier this month.

The suit, which seeks class action status, was filed in a federal court in Philadelphia against SeaWorld Parks, the owner of Sesame Place, for "pervasive and appalling race discrimination."

The lawsuit alleges four employees dressed as Sesame Street characters ignored Quinton Burns, his daughter Kennedi Burns and other Black guests during the meet-and-greet on June 18. The lawsuit says "SeaWorld's performers readily engaged with numerous similarly situated white customers."

During a press conference held Wednesday, one of the family's attorneys, Malcolm Ruff, called for transparency from SeaWorld and for the company to compensate the Burns family. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Additional reporting by The Associated Press.

Sesame Place Apologizes After Black Girls Snubbed At Parade

Sesame Place Apologizes After Black Girls Snubbed At Parade

A viral video shows one of the costumed parade characters high-fiving a White child and woman, then gesturing "no" and walking past two Black girls.

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