OPINION: As usual, little Black children were negatively affected by something no one can definitively say was race-related. This isn’t just Sesame Place; this is America.
Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
Being a parent can be a difficult job. Of course, it’s a joy watching your children grow; the internal moments spent watching and molding our children into their future selves make all of the sleepless nights (which, trust me, do not end just because your child is a toddler or older) and high-stress moments worth it. But there’s the other part; the part where your child has to interact with the world that we try to shield them from for as long as possible, the part that threatens their innocence; the part where we have no control. And that world can look different for Black parents and parents of color. There are racial and social landmines that we know our children will have to encounter and sidestep over time—especially in America—but we all hope it doesn’t happen in spaces that seem specifically curated to maintain the happiness of their childhood. And yet.
That’s why the Instagram clip that circulated this past week of the two little Black girls at Sesame Place who were ignored, shunned or simply rejected by the person dressed as the Muppet character “Rosita” struck a nerve, ESPECIALLY for Black parents. It is infuriating, as a parent, to have to witness your child being shunned by anybody. But being rejected by a character that they know and love from one of the shows that nearly all of Black America has spent years consuming SPECIFICALLY because of its warmth and familiarity? And then having to stuff down the immediate anger in order to hopefully redirect your child’s emotions so they don’t realize what just happened to them or are distracted enough to forget it??! It’s exhausting—but more importantly, who in their right mind treats little kids like that at a place you specifically bring your kids to BECAUSE it’s all about the kids?
Sesame Place, the theme park where this all happened, is so named because of Sesame Street, the .
The post The ‘Sesame Place’ saga: Parenting kids through rejection they shouldn’t have to experience appeared first on TheGrio.
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