Two white men who wore blackface to Philadelphia's annual Mummers Parade on New Year’s Day were condemned by Mayor Jim Kenney but claim they did not intend to be racist.

“I talk to black people. They told me, ‘What are you talking about? You can wear whatever you want,'" Kevin Hinkel told NBC Philadelphia. "'That ain’t discriminating me. That ain’t racist to me.' That’s what they tell me.”

The parade has a history of sexist and racist displays and efforts have been made to educate the public against using hateful symbols on the day of celebration.

Mike Tomaszwski and Hinkel nevertheless refused to apologize.

“I know it’s a shame to be white in Philly right now. It’s a shame.” Tomaszwski told CBS Philly.

The two men were marching with the Froggy Carr Club, a group celebrating the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team mascot Gritty.

“Black and orange, getting Gritty with it,” said Hinkel. “It has nothing to do with being racist to the black person or the white person or the yellow person. It’s our tradition.”

The group was disqualified from participating in the competition, and Kenney quickly criticized the display.

"The use of blackface by someone affiliated with Froggy Carr today was abhorrent and unacceptable," tweeted Kenney. "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 will be exploring additional penalties."