A Connecticut mom is sharing her story after she says her child experienced discrimination at Legoland. Checkey Beckford reports.
A Connecticut mother is joining a $25 million lawsuit, claiming that her young Black child was discriminated against at New York's Legoland theme park — a similar claim that a Brooklyn mother made about a costumed character at a Sesame Place park, sparking the lawsuit.
Breana Ramsay and her sister-in-law were at the Goshen amusement park with their 2- and 4-year-old children in June, when the Bridgeport mother said they became subject to a racist encounter.
"There is an employee who bends down to the left, to a child that was white. That child did not want to interact with them, so the employee walked completely around my daughter and nephew to another white child to interact with them," said Ramsay.
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In the video, Ramsay's sister-in-law can be heard asking "Did he just walk past my babies though, and not give them a high five? Is that what just happened?"
Ramsay said the video also shows a character in the back dancing with a white child and snubbing the Black girl right next to her.
The video ends after about 28 seconds, but Ramsay, her sister-in-law and their attorney Darnell Crosland have joined a $25 million class action lawsuit which includes claims of racism against Legoland, Sesame Place in Philadelphia, and Chuck-E-Cheese in Wayne, New Jersey, after similar videos recently surfaced.
"Martin Luther King had to sit down and tell his daughter Yulanda that she couldn’t go to Fun Town cause they didn’t let Blacks into amusement parks then," said Crosland. "This systemic racism has been going on for so long, now that we have cameras and people have social media and they have a bigger voice, now we’re starting to see all these cases that have existed all along."
In a statement, Legoland responded to the claims, saying "Providing a safe, fun environment for children and their families is our number one priority. As soon as we were made aware of this incident, we immediately attempted to contact the guest and opened an urgent investigation. Our company has zero tolerance for any behavior which doesn’t make our guests feel fully included."
A spokesperson said that closed-circuit cameras showed 17 minutes of the dance party, and does show interaction between the characters and Ramsay's daughter and nephew. A letter sent to Crosland from Legoland's lawyers said they are still investigating the incident.
"It kept happening over and over and over, and the only time they engaged with the children is when they moved them away from the Lego characters," said Ramsay.
Crosland also questioned why the park hadn't yet turned over their video.
"They’re still investigating, so how long does it take to investigate 17 minutes? It should take about 17 minutes," he said.
Ramsay said she wants a refund, the workers involved to be fired, and compensation for therapy the children are now undergoing as a result of the incident.
"For her 4-year-old son to sit there and ask us, 'Why don’t they want to play with me? Why don’t they want to be our friend?'" Ramsay said.
