Last month, a black family accused Sesame Place Philadelphia character performers of racial discrimination and filed a lawsuit against parent company SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment in federal court in Pennsylvania.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Quinton Burns and his child, says that during their visit to Sesame Place in June, employees dressed as Sesame Street characters only interacted with white patrons during a meet and greet .
By the end of September, all employees will undergo training and education programs led by national experts, Sesame Place said in a statement Tuesday. The programs are designed to address bias, promote inclusion, prevent discrimination and ensure guests and employees feel welcome, it added.
“Initiatives include a comprehensive racial equity assessment, development and implementation of an anti-bias training and education program, and improvements to ensure a best-in-class Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) program,” it said.
“The racial equity assessment will include a review of policies, processes and practices that impact guests, employees, suppliers and the community to identify opportunities for improvement.”
Training will become a regular part of workforce development and will cover all new hires.
“We have already begun to engage with staff, guests, civil rights groups, as well as community leaders, and have put in place some temporary measures at the park while the review continues.” The actions we are taking will help us deliver on our promise to provide a fair and inclusive experience for all our guests every day,” said Cathy Valeriano, President of Sesame Place Philadelphia. “We are committed to ensuring that our guests feel welcome, included and enriched by their visits to our park.”
The lawsuit alleges that employees dressed as Sesame Street characters Elmo, Ernie, Telly Monster and Abby Cadabby refused to engage with the Burns family and ignored other black guests in attendance.
The lawsuit does not specify the race of the officers or detail the interaction. It came after a public apology from theme park officials to another black family after a video went viral on social media showing two black children appearing to be neglected by Rosita’s character.
In addition to the monetary demands, the suit asked the court to compel the defendants to issue formal apologies to black Americans.
He also asked the company to conduct psychological screenings to avoid hiring racially biased people, provide existing employees with mandatory cultural sensitivity training and hire a national expert to educate them about the history of discrimination against blacks in America.
CNN’s Lauren del Valle contributed to this report.
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