Valley Swim Club in Pennsylvania

You may have heard last week about this horrible story coming out of Pennsylvania--a private swim club that leases out its facilities to non-members, recently ejected a group of black children from their pool. The manager's initial response to why he did so was that they would "change the complexion of the club" but now he's changing his story stating that too many of the children couldn't swim therefore crowding the shallow end of the pool. Well now, Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter (Democrat, formerly Republican) has asked that the Justice Department investigate the club for violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (yay, Senator Specter).

Regardless of the club's official line on this matter, it needs to be noted that only three parents let their white children swim with the black children--in fucking 2009! Most took their children from the pool and complained specifically about "black children."

Here's an exchange quoted from the story linked to Pandagon above:

"A couple of the children ran down saying, 'Miss Wright, Miss Wright, they're up there saying, 'What are those black kids doing here?"'

Wright said she went to talk to a group of members at the top of the hill and heard one woman say she would see to it that the group, made of up of children in kindergarten through seventh grade, did not return.

"Some of the members began pulling their children out of the pool and were standing around with their arms folded," Wright said. "Only three members left their children in the pool with us."

This is absolutely disgusting and the fact that these children in 2009, with a Black President in Office, still have to be scarred emotionally by racist hatred in the USA enrages me.

This case also illustrates how racism denies children of color equal opportunities for quality exercise and active lifestyles. Predominately black neighborhoods traditionally have less clean, safe parks, pools, and recreational centers than predominately white neighborhoods--because of systematic racism. So when the community group that is over-seeing this fun summer camp wanted to take the kids swimming, they leased swimming rights in a predominately white swim club--yet even after paying good money, they were ejected, most apparently because the management did not understand that the children would be mostly black. You can see the swim club's phone number in the picture I have posted above, if you would like to take direct action and call for the manager to be fired. We must show that this is unacceptable!

Peace