Six Flags Over Georgia officials are apologizing to a family who said their park attire honoring Juneteenth was unnecessarily called into question.
Maya Miller visited the park Friday with her three children. The metro Atlanta family wore shirts with slogans in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, including “I can’t breathe,” “we tired” and “stop killing us,” Miller told Channel 2 Action News.
They were stopped by a security guard on their way into the park.
Miller said she asked the guard if they did anything wrong, and the woman said she needed to “check and see if your shirts are an issue,” Miller recalled in a public Facebook post.
Miller said she refused to wait for the woman, who was Black, to call a supervisor because there was nothing wrong with the shirts. She was told she may have to leave if approached later by park staff, she said.
Miller and her children then walked away. In her Facebook post, Miller referenced George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks, “whose lives are gone because an issue was created that wasn’t even there.”
“Once we entered the park my whole day was shot, because I was nervous,” she told Channel 2 in an interview. “I didn't know if she did call the police. I saw the fear and confusion in my children’s eyes."
Their experience was also relayed on Facebook by the children’s father, and that post has been shared more than 2,000 times as of Thursday.
When reached by the news station, Six Flags said it had apologized to the family and invited them back to the park this Saturday as “special guests.”
“We deeply regret this incident,” the company said in a statement. “Our Park President has spoken to the Miller family and offered our sincere apologies. We look forward to welcoming them back to the park as our special guests.”
According to park policy, admission may be denied to guests who do not follow a dress code that prohibits clothing "with offensive language or graphics."
Clothing with profanity, pornography, graphic violence, support of drugs or drug use, gang symbols or promotion of discrimination of any group is not permitted inside the park.
Six Flags said it was clear the family’s shirts were permissible.
“We take matters like this seriously and we immediately retrained team members to ensure compliance with all policies regarding inclusiveness,” the statement continued.
Miller told Channel 2 she appreciated the apology but wanted Six Flags to do more. She would like to see employees trained on the significance of the Black Lives Matter movement and the impact of racism, the news station reported.
"We want them to get on board with this," Miller said. "Say that you are on board."
The family plans to meet with park officials when they visit this weekend, according to Channel 2.
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