Biracial family was told not to use shower house at Missouri campground, mom says

The mother of biracial children said her family was discriminated against during a visit at a Missouri KOA campground.

Megan Jones, of Alton, Illinois, visited the KOA Campgrounds in Stanton, Missouri, with her seven children for a family vacation, she said. The trip ended with staff treating Jones’ children “like garbage” and the family being asked to leave, she wrote in a Facebook post.

The Stanton/Meramec KOA Journey campground is located around 60 miles southwest of St. Louis.

A husband and wife who are KOA franchisees, according to KSDK, were rude on numerous occasions to Jones’ children, the mother said.

While her 5-year-old child was playing with sidewalk chalk, the female franchisee yelled at and called another one of Jones’ children “dirty” for letting the 5-year-old draw on the ground, the mother wrote.

The woman told the child they would kick the family out if the chalk was not cleaned, Jones wrote.

Jones said she approached the woman and asked why she would talk to her child that way.

“She said because my 5 year old should know better than to write on the ground with chalk and said that she also didn’t want OUR KIND in the bathrooms and shower house,” Jones wrote on Facebook. “What do you mean OUR KIND? Hold on ... is it because my children are biracial that you are treating us like this?”

Because the family rented two cabins and one did not include a bathroom, Jones wrote that the woman preferred they leave and they would be given a refund.

Jones wrote, sharing a Black Lives Matter hashtag, that “something has to change.”

“So not only did she treat my kids like garbage, but she didn’t want us there because the color of their skin,” she said in a Facebook post. “Yes, we left. Not to make her happy but bc we felt out of place. I have to tell my kids she is wrong and that most people aren’t like this.”

The local KOA campground confirmed the incident on Facebook and apologized. The KOA staff “will be active in seeking training and resources to better understand and welcome guests of all ages,” they wrote.

“We will not make excuses, nor try to relay our intentions,” KOA said. “Regardless of how we viewed the situation, if we made this family feel unwelcome it’s clear we have work to do. We will be looking hard at ourselves and our staff to ensure we truly embody the KOA mission that all are welcome. While we have long believed it, actions need to speak louder than words and thoughts.”

After Jones wrote her Facebook post Saturday that has nearly 3,000 shares as of Tuesday morning, many people left negative reviews of the campground site on Facebook and Google.

In a separate statement to KSDK, the National Kampgrounds of America said it has been in contact with the family and offered its own apology.

“They spoke of their love of camping and their intent to continue to camp with KOA in the future,” the statement read. “We welcome the chance to provide them with the camping experience that they and all members of the Black community deserve.”

This story was originally published June 16, 2020 at 9:44 AM with the headline "Biracial family was told not to use shower house at Missouri campground, mom says."