"We're celebrating Gritty. The theme is 'Frogs Getting Gritty With It,” said Jim Martin.
That is the quote from the guy in the Mummers group Froggy Carr talking about how he isn't racist while sporting blackface in the annual New Year's Day parade in Philadelphia on Wednesday (1/1).
According to 6ABC:
At least two members of Froggy Carr, in the Wench Brigade, have been accused of wearing blackface.
Some are saying the act was clearly racist, while others say it was not blackface and there were no ill intentions.
Froggy Carr was disqualified from the competition, and Mayor Jim Kenney says there could be further repercussions.
Gritty was the theme of Froggy Carr's performance on Broad Street. An inflatable Gritty balloon hangs outside their clubhouse in South Philadelphia.
During the parade, marchers wore black and orange costumes and held umbrellas resembling the Flyers mascot.
People had on different variations of face paint - orange and black, orange and white, etc. - but at least two marchers wore only black paint.
The Mayor of Philadelphia, Jim Kenney, was not too pleased and issued a statement via Twitter saying, "The use of blackface by someone affiliated with Froggy Carr today was abhorrent and unacceptable. This selfish, hateful behavior has no place in the Mummers, or the city itself. We must be better than this. The group was disqualified and we will be exploring additional penalties."
More HERE and below from 6ABC/WPVI: