Featured Image Credit: City of New Orleans
Topics: US News
Callum Jones
The parents of a seven-year-old girl who spotted a 'deeply offensive' Black doll at a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans have spoken out.
Outrage was sparked across social media after images and video emerged from a Krewe of Tucks parade on Saturday (February 14) showing what looked like a Black Barbie-style doll hung from a float by beads around its neck.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill called it a 'disgusting, vulgar, racist image' and vowed to identify those involved in what was widely condemned as a racist taunt.
What made it even worse is that one of the dolls was caught by a seven-year-old girl on her birthday, and her parents had to explain why she couldn't play with it.
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The girl's mother told WWL: "It really just hurt that her innocence was taken away because I had to expose her to a darker side of racism and tell her why she wasn’t allowed to play with it."
The seven-year-old's dad, George Lee, also spoke to the press and told The Times-Picayune: "She didn’t understand why she couldn’t have it. And that’s not a conversation to be having with a seven-year-old."
After New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno heard about the incident, the family were invited to join her at Gallier Hall to watch other parades, but they still ended up leaving Mardi Gras early.
George claimed parade organizers Krewe of Tucks hadn't reached out to apologise to his family.
Moreno was quick to condemn what happened as she penned in a statement posted to social media: "Let me be clear: the display is deeply offensive, unacceptable, and has no place in our city.
"New Orleans is built on respect, diversity, and inclusion and actions that seek to demean or intimidate any member of our community violate the very spirit of who we are."
She continued: "Our celebrations, particularly those where our children and families attend, should be spaces of joy and unity, not exposure to hateful or harmful imagery."
The Krewe of Tucks has issued an apology, stating that 'it is very important any racist gesture or sentiment be addressed immediately'.
They said in a statement: "Given the history of racism in the country, state, city and Mardi Gras itself, we know that the image of beads tied around the neck of a Black doll is evocative of painful history.
"We also recognize that racism is not a thing of the past but continues to plague our community and our country."
The riders involved in the incident have since been identified and 'their membership has been swiftly and permanently terminated'.
However, several people have demanded penalties. Janet Tobias of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference called for Krewe of Tucks to be fined $5,000 and put on probation.
"We want accountability," she said.