Following a three-hour demonstration at Sesame Place late on Saturday afternoon in support of a New York lady whose cellphone footage of a park staffer dressed as a character seemingly rejecting two Black girls went viral, two New Jersey males were detained.
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The demonstration was the first at the well-known theme park since the incident on July 16, according to Brooklyn resident Jodi Brown, in which she claims a park employee wearing a “Rosita” costume turned down her 6-year-old daughter and 4-year-old niece’s requests for hugs during a character parade while interacting with other white visitors.
Social media posts on Friday urged protesters to congregate in the park at noon on Saturday. However, the Delaware NAACP was represented at the time by only two individuals. Police and journalists outnumbered them.
According to a news statement from Middletown police, some two dozen protestors gathered and set up shop at the North Buckstown Road crosswalk leading to Sesame Place’s main gate.
The park had set up a staging area with cool water for the demonstrators close to the park entrance, but they refused to congregate there, according to the police.
The two unnamed New Jersey protesters then attempted to disrupt traffic by repeatedly stepping into moving traffic on North Buckstown Road, causing cars to swerve and halt to escape them. According to authorities, they also made an effort to obstruct the crosswalk that park visitors used to enter the park.
According to authorities, the guys were repeatedly asked by police officers to quit obstructing the crossing and traffic. The guys said police they would not stop trying to impede traffic and were shouting profanities in front of kids, according to the release.
The mom’s attorneys behind the Sesame Place video are urging park operators to “do the right thing” in light of the most recent Sesame snub revelations.
The two males who were detained by Middletown police were identified only as being 50-year-olds from Newark and 46-year-olds from Camden. According to police, they were charged with disorderly behaviour and obstruction of roadways as summary charges and then released.
Police said that following the arrests, the remaining protestors conducted a nonviolent demonstration for many hours.
Social media users livestreamed a nearly four-minute, The video shows visitors crossing the street with their legs in the crosswalk and a dispute with Middletown police, but after a minute the camera is obscured. There are voices shouting “No justice, no peace” and making disparaging remarks about cops.
More than 880,000 people have seen the original, 9-second video that captured the alleged slight on July 16 since it was released on social media.
This video sparked outrage in the community and demands for a park boycott. Additionally, it led other Black parents to submit videos online in which they claim costumed characters at the park ignore their kids while socialising with kids of different races.
Characters, according to parents, disregarded children. There are other recordings of similar discrimination in the park.
Widespread criticism has been levelled at the theme park and SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, who own and operate it, for what some have called their callous handling of Brown’s allegations. In a statement released on Saturday, the Congressional Black Caucus asked for a meeting with Sesame Place’s president to go over the planned reforms, actions, and training.
At a news conference, Brown’s attorneys also disclosed that they had been in contact with SeaWorld management to make alterations to the park’s operations to avoid such tragedies in the future. Additionally, Brown and her friends are requesting that the park fire the worker who ignored the girls.
Sesame Place has frequently expressed regret to the Brown family in public speeches, referred to the occurrence as “unacceptable,” and promised to evaluate its procedures and policies as well as introduce obligatory bias education for all staff members. The employer, who it said was “devastated” to learn what transpired, has not saddened if discipline has been meted out.
Additionally, the business has volunteered to meet with Brown and her legal representatives in person to express its regret and to “acknowledge that we are holding ourselves accountable for what transpired.”