Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, attorneys meet with CEO over viral Sesame Place video
LANGHORNE, Pa. (CBS) -- Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson and attorneys of the family of two Black girls met with the Sesame Place CEO Thursday over that viral video appearing to show the girls being snubbed by a character.
Executives with Seaworld, the park's operator, which operates Sesame Place, did not meet with members of the family but promised to do so.
That meeting happened Thursday afternoon in New York City. It comes after Sesame Place in Langhorne pledged earlier this week to have diversity and inclusion training following that now infamous video.
In July, a video went viral showing the Sesame Street character Rosita appearing to wave off two Black girls during a parade at Sesame Place. The mother of one of the girls posted the video, and soon others said they had similar experiences.
Later in July, it was announced another family filed a $25 million class action lawsuit against the owners of Sesame Place.
This past Tuesday, Sesame Place announced mandatory diversity and inclusion training for all of its employees. The training is supposed to address bias and prevent discrimination.
"It's the substance behind the statement. There has to be actions -- as Rev. Jackson just talked about -- in the procurement budget and their board. Having diversity in all these different areas is what actually is going to lead to the long-term change that we're seeking," attorney B'Ivory LaMarr said.
Besides anti-discrimination training, the families also want to see changes to Sesame Place's hiring practices and set aside part of its budget to be spent exclusively on African American businesses.
Meanwhile, a separate family has filed a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit because of a different incident of alleged racial bias.