Darien Library Employee Placed On Leave Amid Investigation Into Viral TikTok Video

DARIEN, CT — A Darien Library employee has been placed on administrative leave while an investigation takes place into claims that a white employee ignored a young Black child during a recent community event.

A two-minute and 29-second video uploaded to TikTok by West Haven resident Micah Whitaker on Oct. 6 and filmed during a storytime event at Darien Commons on Oct. 3 appears to show a woman with a puppet engaging with several small children.

A young Black child is seen walking with his mother near the employee, but the employee appears in the video to continue engaging with other nearby children before eventually packing the puppet away.

"As parents, this broke our hearts," the video's caption says. "Every child deserves to feel SEEN. Every child deserves to feel INCLUDED. EVERY CHILD Matters. This woman seen in the video works at the Darien Library, and what happened left us deeply hurt and questioning why our son was treated differently."

As of Wednesday night, the video had garnered over 4 million views, 650,000 likes, and 19,500 comments. Many of the comments offer words of support, including from Ms. Rachel, a children's educator, entertainer, and activist, who wrote, "I'd be so honored to meet your little boy and he can meet Herbie any time (our puppet). I'll message you!"

In an emailed statement to Darien Patch on Wednesday, Darien Library Director Kierra Parrott said the library "takes these allegations seriously, as we do our commitment to be a welcoming, inclusive, and safe space for every patron, especially our youngest patrons and their families and caregivers."

The library has retained an independent law firm to conduct "a full and comprehensive review of all aspects of the situation," Parrott said.

Parrott noted library officials first spoke with the parents of the child on the day of the event and again in the days after the upload of the TikTok video.

"Since then, we have been very carefully reviewing everything that occurred leading up to and following the event, and have again been in direct contact with the family. We have also met with leadership at the Norwalk Chapter of the NAACP," Parrott said.

Additionally, Parrott noted, the library has notified local law enforcement about threats that have been made against the library and the employee.

Parrott asked the community for patience, and assured residents the library is listening to concerns "and doing everything we can, with sensitivity to the requisite boundaries of safety, privacy, and confidentiality, to respond as appropriate."

"In the meantime," Parrott added, "we are in contact with the family and are focused on working together to achieve healing and resolution."

A GoFundMe fundraiser started by Whitaker has raised over $3,400.

"This fundraiser is not about asking for pity. Micah simply wants to turn this difficult moment into a beautiful memory for his son," the fundraiser's description says.

"The hope is to use the support from this fundraiser to take him and the family to Disney World, where he can experience the joy, magic, and excitement every child deserves. More than anything, Micah wants this little boy to be surrounded by love and reminded that one hurtful experience does not define who he is or what the world can hold for him."