New Sesame Place Video, Incident Emerges As Civil Rights Leaders Meet To Discuss Discrimination Allegations
LANGHORNE, Pa. (CBS) -- There are new developments in the Sesame Place controversy. Civil rights leaders are meeting to discuss the allegations of racial discrimination at the Langhorne theme park and want a meeting with Sea World leaders to develop solutions to eradicate discrimination.
Meantime, a York father believes his daughter was a victim of discrimination at the park. The father believes it wasn't a coincidence of what happened to her.
Nathan Fleming and his 5-year-old daughter Olivia visited Sesame Place 12 days before the New York video was posted.
"Fifteen to 20 minutes maybe went by where she didn't get a high-five and I feel like she was being overlooked a bit," Fleming said.
Fleming says back on July 4, when his daughter was passed by time and again during a Sesame Place character parade, he chalked it up to there being thousands of kids along the route and went into "dad mode" to get his daughter noticed.
"In the video, you can hear me I'm yelling like towards him and I'm recording and pointing at her at the same time and as he's walking towards her, I felt glorified like all right, it's about it happen," Fleming said.
Five-year-old old Olivia describes instead what happened next.
"His hand went like this," Olivia said.
"He is visibly walking to her and then a split-second change, he sees another kid and goes the opposite direction," Fleming said.
Fleming says while Olivia described the characters as "mean" for ignoring her that day it wasn't until friends shared the now-viral social post from a New York mother who alleges her 6-year-old daughter and niece were snubbed that he started to believe this was a pattern, something Olivia also sensed.
"If a kid says 'Oh, it happened to another kid' that's one thing but when they say 'that kid looks just like me,' she's referring to her skin color," Fleming said.
Fleming says since the incident Olivia has wanted nothing to do with any of her favorite characters, even TV shows. He says what disappoints him most is that despite repeated calls, emails and even LinkedIn messages, Sesame Place has not replied.
"It could have been something as small as inviting her back, maybe a meet and greet. Anything to help her regain her confidence," Fleming said.
Sesame Place responded to the new incident in a statement sent to CBS3: "We want every child who comes to our park to feel included, seen and inspired and we are disappointed to learn that this child came away from her experience in our park feeling disappointed. We are reaching out to the family to speak with them about it."
