racial discrimination

After an incident at Sesame Place, which appears to be a blatant act of discriminatory behavior, a family is now seeking legal recourse.

Incident at Sesame

An incident at Sesame Place is now gaining traction. In fact, the reaction to the video has proved so strong the virality has brought forth other evidence indicating patterns of behavior which now trains a spotlight on Sesame Place.

What Happened?

A video recently went viral of two little Black girls allegedly being denied interaction with Sesame’s Place Rosita. As many fans of Sesame Street know, Rosita is one of the most beloved character representations of inclusion on the program. It isn’t odd to see the excitement many young viewers have when seeing the likeness. The video shows the two girls waiting to interact with Rosita. However, after the character is seen giving high fives to others, the two girls appear to be deliberately rebuffed. Not only were the girls ignored the claimants contend that they were also outright told no. A case of heartbreak is not the only thing on full display.

Did The Sesame Place Character Discriminate?

While one count cannot prove a discriminatory act, this is not the first time this has happened. According to TMZ, more videos have been shared since the event. Mounting proof leans closer towards patterned behavior. And additionally, the family’s legal representation reports the character’s actions before and after the exchange all lean toward discrimination. And that is a problem.

The Next Recourse

B’Ivory LaMarr is now a legal representative for the family and is investigating the claims. According to TMZ, LaMarr had this to say,

“All options are on the table for them, including a lawsuit.”

However, after the video went viral, representatives for Sesame Place reached out to the family in response. According to the letter posted, the video does not tell the entire story. The letter read that the character’s gesture of no was a reaction in response to several requests from someone in the crowd for the character to hold a child to pose for pictures. And under the regulations of the park, this is unallowable. In the letter, it is also said the character who performs as Rosita is remorseful for how the family took things.

Image Source: TMZ

However, the video does give another impression altogether. The family was not the only one incensed by the video. Reportedly Kelly Rowland was also taken aback by the response. According to Yahoo, Rowland had this to say,

“OH HELL NAWWW!! TF! This just made me so mad!”

Later she shared the video.

Not Good Enough

However, after the response from Sesame, an activist Tamika Mallory had something to add. She claimed the response from the organization was no more than gaslighting. But, of course, until the investigation is complete, no one can be entirely sure. However, since then, another video has surfaced of another character entirely bulldozing another child. Astoundingly the mounting evidence against Sesame Place is proving at this point; sorry is not enough.

@frobabies

🤔Not sure who’s in these @sesameplace costumes but this is completely unacceptable! 🤔#frobabies #sesameplace

♬ original sound – Frobabies

In Summary

It is always sad to hear that in 2022 this remains an issue of contention. There is no definitive proof that the incident was indeed discriminatory. However, the fact this has occurred more than once, leading to the perception of discrimination, is saddening. This should not be a viral issue, but as we know, as a nation, there is still a long way to go.

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Written By: Renae Richardson

The NFL has announced that it has partnered with Ice Cube’s Contract with Black America Institute (CWBA). They are trying to “increase economic equity and partnerships with Black-owned businesses.” However, this is only an attempt to hide their bad hiring practices.

The NFL announced the partnership on Thursday. They are going to focus on the financial, tech, and production sectors to try to “close America’s racial and economic wealth gap”.

Along with the announcement came a message from Ice Cube.

“For more than a year, the CWBA Institute has been working closely with the NFL on identifying resources to build stronger, more substantive economic partnerships with the Black community. Our team at CWBA, including my longtime business partner and entertainment lawyer Jeff Kwatinetz, and advisors Ja’Ron Smith and Chris Pilkerton, are focused on building corporate partnerships with measurable economic growth outcomes for Black communities across the country. We believe this is a giant step in the right direction.”

The NFL had already allocated $125 million to support Black-owned businesses over the past year, according to their announcement.

Despite these efforts, the NFL has recently been under scrutiny for its hiring practices. However, the problem is not with the players. 75% of the roster was non-white in 2021. The issue is that only five head coaches are not. It is so bad that the NFL is currently being sued by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores for racial discrimination.

Ice Cube and CWBA want Change

Ice Cube created the CWBA in 2020. It focuses on economic inclusion within the Black community.

While he is mostly known as an actor, Ice Cube has also been focused on helping the community for a while. He had made his own semi-professional basketball league, called “The Big 3”.

In October of 2020, Ice Cube turned down a Zoom call with the Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris. He claimed it would not be productive. Instead, he worked with then-president Trump on the Platinum Plan. That plan was focused on three things. It made Juneteenth a federal holiday. It also labeled the KKK and Antifa as terrorists and made lynching illegal. That is much more productive than talking to someone that only potentially could get the power to do these changes.

Written by Justin Acosta

Twitter: @hahalacka