A Connecticut mom has taken legal action against Legoland, alleging racial discrimination. Breana Ramsay filed a lawsuit last week in the New York State Supreme Court for $1 million in damages over a visit to the New York park in June of 2022.
Ramsay and her sister-in-law Shaquana Williams, who lives in Mount Vernon, NY. They took their two children, Ramsay’s 2-year-old daughter and Williams’ 4-year-old son, to Legoland in Goshen, NY, and everyone in the family was excited about their day trip to the park.
However, they said that they noticed a pattern: the costumed characters in the park were ignoring their two young children in favor of interacting with other white children, News 8 reports.
“The character blatantly walked around and decided to interact with children that were not of color,” said Ramsay, who recorded cell phone video footage capturing this disparity.
Ramsay remembers how driving home, “The car ride was sad…My nephew was like, ‘Why wouldn’t they dance with me?’ and we were trying to explain the situation without making him feel bad.”
Initially, Darnell Crosland, the attorney representing the Ramsay and Williams families, only sought a refund for ticket costs and a public apology for the families. However, according to Crosland, a letter was sent in August 2022 requesting that that was ignored in the same way that these moms say their children were ignored at the park.
Two years later, with no apology, Crosland filed this lawsuit after conducting more research to back up the assertions made. “We’ve collected data upon data of different incidents that I’ve paid for from my office to see if this is real, and it continues to happen.”
“We intend to hold Legoland New York accountable for the harm it caused and the emotional scars these children have been left to deal with,” said Crosland. “We want to ensure a welcoming environment for all guests regardless of their color, race or ethnicity.”
“The characters can be seen purposefully avoiding and walking around the black children…to avoid having to dance with them and instead dancing with white children,” states the lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, Legoland New York was “grossly negligent” in addition to acting with “reckless indifference” to the Crosland’s clients’ civil rights by “failing to have, enact, follow and enforce policies and procedures designed to prevent and discourage racial discrimination in customer interactions.”
Last Thursday, Legoland New York issued a statement saying, They wanted all of their guests to be comfortable at their theme park. “We are committed to fostering an open, inclusive, and safe environment where all our guests feel valued.”
“As this matter is currently under litigation, we are unable to provide further details and will respect the legal process,” the statement continued.