Being 'Uncomfortable' Hosting Certain Group Isn't Racism, Says Park That Turned Away Blacks

Missouri's water park Summit Waves has denied racism allegations after accusations that it turned away a large group of guests on Aug. 6 for an event paid for by a Black family.

Chris Evans, the father of the boys who organized the event, spoke about the incident with KCTV5 Monday night, saying he had signed a contract with the water park a month prior for hosting 250 people at the venue for two hours to celebrate his son Isaiah's 17th birthday.

The family said they hadn't heard about the cancelation until they reached the event and confronted the staff after being denied access. The exchange was captured by certain guests for social media. Some of these clips were played on the news where Evans was heard demanding an explanation for the cancelation.

"You are canceling a kid's birthday party because you're not comfortable?" Evans asked to which a park official replied with a "yes". Evans followed up, "What are you comfortable about?"

The park official tried to respond, but her voice was drowned by the person recording the video, saying, "because we're Black" repeatedly. The park official clarified that wasn't the reason. The park official said the number of people that had showed up at the venue was a concern, and race had nothing to do with it.

The Evans family had paid $2,000 to the park for hosting 250 people. "They are up-and-coming community leaders and what picture are you painting them, they want to do good for their community," Evans said, adding that his boys had spent their personal money to invite their friends for a private pool party at the park.

Evans said the park's excuse for turning them away was anything but true. "In your contract, it says capacity 250, if you can't handle 250 don't sell that product," he said. The family had paid for personal security, including an armed guard, and a photographer to document the event.

"They go to school, there're security guards, there're metal detectors. I want my kids to be safe," Evans said. "If you want to be in an environment where you want to host kids and have a good time, you need to understand kids, you can't be fearful of your customers," Evans added, deducing the park's decision was race-motivated.

Lee's Summit's Parks and Recreation Department issued a statement on Aug. 8 saying the event was canceled because it was highly promoted on social media. The park said it "raised serious concerns about the safety of party guests and the possibility the event would grow beyond the capacity of staff."

Addressing Evans' concern about no explanation being provided, the release said, "After multiple attempts to reach the renter in advance of the event to discuss safety concerns, a connection was not made until the hours leading up to the event.

"At that point, the only recourse was to cancel the event. Despite the cancellation, approximately 500 teens arrived in the Summit Waves parking lot." The park is facing severe heat from the parents of the kids that were turned away. One social media user highlighted the alleged lax attitude of one park worker in the wake of the incident.

"So these employees at Summit Waves in Lee's Summit turn away a family who has a signed contract for their event and then go on their social media sites claiming they DGAF. WOW!! Summit Waves is a part of Lee's Summit Parks & Rec. & IF they don't condone this behavior action needs to be taken ASAP. Those employees should be FIRED & the family compensated & issued a public apology," the post read.