Portraits of Innocence and Feeling Welcomed

There are vivid memories of my first trip to Sesame Place. At the time, it was the mid to late 1980s and I was almost four years old, and my younger brother turned two years old. Both our parents took us down there five years after it opened and I can recall being afraid to slide down the water slide, playing on the sand of the tiny beach, seeing a glimpse of Big Bird on stage and my parents walking us past it to myself jump in a ball pit. For years pictures rested amongst the stash of photographs within my mother’s possession of us there with myself peering my face through a Bert cut out next to my brother who showed his face through an Ernie cut out. It was a giant play park centered around Sesame Street the television show encouraging socialization with everyone. We felt welcomed to come and do not recall either one of my parents expressing a negative experience of the park shunning them due to the color of their skin though we were among the few black families there. My mother working full time as a refund clerk for Amtrak got a discount to take us. The park was known to charge high prices and people got whatever discount offered to take their children. Of course, the park changed over the years when it became more about amusement rides and character interactions. They started having parades with live productions as seen in Disney World and Disney Land theme parks where the characters marched down the street with dancers behind them twirling and performing broadway style choreography in costumes. At that time, I was in my pre-teens and entering my teens seeing the advertisement on television for a new entertainment edition to the park where visitors can see the parades and interact with characters. Sesame Place was getting more recognized as a major theme park part of the Sesame Street brand. An Incident recently, that took place led a mother to go viral complaining of her daughter and niece who she brought to the park ignored by the character of Rosita who hails from Mexico proceeding to acknowledge white children by hugging them and high-fiving them their parents. The girls are seen to reach their arms out to the character who did not notice. The park issued an apology claiming it was a misunderstanding and that the character was waving no to a person on the side asking them to take pictures and hold their child. Employees dressed as characters are not supposed to hold children due to having a limited vision as policy. Since her complaint on Instagram, the public began seeing the park as racist towards people of color. Protest loomed already outside the park with the new black panther party here in Philly. Others would soon make the same accusation visiting the park of their children ignored by Sesame Street characters posting their viral videos. Press conferences have been conducted with the parents making these accusations with Ben Crump and other attorneys present. Jesse Jackson got involved calling for the park to change the ways they address diversity. Then other stories got headlines seen through social media a mother in Wayne, New Jersey claiming her black child was ignored by Chuckie the mouse at a Chuckie E Cheese to a mother claiming a Disney character Rapunzel in Disney Land ignored her two daughters. It saddens me that this type of attention surrounding theme parks like Sesame Place to Disney World or Disney Land gets negative attention with posts on social media where there are brawls to accusations of racism towards guests of color. The behavior of people coming is seen as destructive and unconcerned of the mindset of children in attendance who are watching. A brawl broke out between two families in the Magic Kingdom last month where a couple of people were taken to the hospital, and some were taken into police custody. It was seen virally for a week. The families were banned from the park. A couple more fights took place in the park and others. Since the pandemic, brawls have been said to take place in Disney theme parks. My memories of Disney going when I was almost 6 years old was enjoyment at seeing Disney characters of Goofy chasing me posing for pictures with me placing his hand on my head joking about how short I was next to him and myself seeing other characters running up and hugging them. I do not recall feeling shunned but had a memory of litting up with joy where every morning when my mother and I arrived, I would insist on riding a train that went around the park with moving robotic figures and sights of the magic kingdom and rides with jingles providing the feel of being in a magical place. Also, it was November and my mother took me out of school for a couple of days to spend time with me celebrating my 6th birthday as a treat taking a trip there. That was when I flew with my cabbage patch doll Melanie eating the hot food the flight attendants served. There are photos she has of me having that memory of us wearing the same color outfits and posing with Mickey Mouse to a photo she had to take of Philly’s first black mayor Wilson Good marching with children and other adults in the Magic Kingdom parade as people watched in amazement. During that time, people were mindful of their behaviors when in the presence of families with children. Today that mindfulness does not exist. We have those who sadly feel the need to get voyeuristic or opportunist even though they cause others to get hurt. Seems activists and lawyers like Krump will come and bring forth attention to racial incidents but not to rising violence that has been taking place in communities for years resulting in homicides and incarcerations. This weekend a toddler was shot in the hand while held by her mother in North Philly’s neighborhood of Kensington. It was an argument between family members at a wedding reception at someone’s home. The person in the middle of the argument drew a gun firing and it hit the child’s hand. Murders have been rising rapidly since the pandemic and cities experienced a decrease of police on the street due to aggressive actions of Black Lives Matter calling for Defunding Police since the report of the death of George Floyd when taken into custody by police in Minnesota. Cites are considering changing the narrative of defunding the police to decrease gun violence by getting more police to be hired and bringing back a stop and frisk policy here in Philly. Some families can not afford to go to theme parks such as Sesame Place, Disney World, or Disney Land or visit Chuckie E Cheese. They live in poverty and collect government assistance. Individuals in this situation are people of color. As a child, I been to Sesame Place and Chuckie E Cheese one time but have been to Disney World twice. We need to ask ourselves a question, is it racism in these parks and if so what would we do if it were us in those costumes said to be hot inside, or is it a misunderstanding and people do not know how to have compassion attempting to destroy another person? We can argue racism does or does not exist. As a person of color, I heard stories of racism from parents who experienced white children being forbidden to play with them on the other side of the street they lived to be forbidden entry with their families to popular beaches due to not allowing coloreds. Times have changed but not so much. Racism in some ways exists but is covert where it is hard to recognize and people have different perceptions of what is racist and what is not. In regard to Sesame Place, those who visited the park claimed their child who is white or of a certain ethnicity with parents as immigrants from another country were also ignored. This is leading to an intense social media debate between those tired of the woke agenda feeling it creates division and those who are willing to call for anyone or thing to be canceled if they are politically not correct. We must ask as mentioned, is it racist or a misunderstanding but people not showing any compassion?

The artwork featured shows my memory of innocence of going to both Sesame Place and Disney World but where I was showing innocence enjoying the thrills surrounding me while welcomed regardless of differences.

Collage and Mixed Media

Acrylic painting

Photo of myself at almost four years old at Sesame Place.