Community | July 08, 2009 | 24 comments

Pool Boots Kids Who Might "Change the Complexion"

source: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Pool-Boots-Kids-Who-Might-Change-the-Complexion.html

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curtisreed
My comment: this is one of the more blatant examples of racism you'll ever see. I'm not really that surprised to find that a few idiot racists wanted the kids out of the pool--you find those types in every crowd.

What amazes me is the incredibly STUPID action the club took to send them packing, tell them they weren't welcome, and to offer to "refund" their money.

Have they NO CLUE about what is about to happen to their club?

Never heard of the ACLU, NAACP, Rev's Jackson and Sharpton?

There are lots of cases where the race card is flashed for no reason. But in this case, the racial discrimination and injustice is as clear as can be.

Game set match, YOU LOSE.

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More than 60 campers from Northeast Philadelphia were turned away from a private swim club and left to wonder if their race was the reason.

"I heard this lady, she was like, 'Uh, what are all these black kids doing here?' She's like, 'I'm scared they might do something to my child,'" said camper Dymire Baylor.

The Creative Steps Day Camp paid more than $1900 to The Valley Swim Club. The Valley Swim Club is a private club that advertises open membership. But the campers' first visit to the pool suggested otherwise.

"When the minority children got in the pool all of the Caucasian children immediately exited the pool," Horace Gibson, parent of a day camp child, wrote in an email. "The pool attendants came and told the black children that they did not allow minorities in the club and needed the children to leave immediately."

The next day the club told the camp director that the camp's membership was being suspended and their money would be refunded.

"I said, 'The parents don't want the refund. They want a place for their children to swim,'" camp director Aetha Wright said.
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24 comments // Pool Boots Kids Who Might "Change the Complexion"

  • outtheinside
    • 0
      outtheinside  

    • this is overt racism and dirty discrimination placed upon the heads of little children. i'd like to read whatever contract was agreed upon and then sue the living shit out of the clubhouse. not because i'm mad at the clubhouse, but because i'm pissed at the attendees who pay for the clubhouse and would like to show them who is actually superior in this country - the law.

    • 2 years ago
  • couldntfindausername
    • 0
      couldntfindausername  

    • Racism? Unquestionably.

      Lawsuit? Idiotic - the money was refunded, it's a swimming pool not drinking water. This is not a necessity, it is a luxury they can freely obtain elsewhere.

      Why on earth would you want to take children to a place full of horrible people who don't like them? What sort of lunatic wants to 'make a point' in that manner? Take the kids somewhere else, give another less repugnant company the money, and let the children have fun somewhere they'd be welcomed and entertained.

      Lolz at the bizarre irony of invoking the NAACP.

    • 2 years ago
  • outtheinside
    • 0
      outtheinside  
    • couldntfindausername:

      you're ignoring facts:

      1) the group made the deal and then was turned away after their skin color was seen
      2) luxury or necessity - it doesn't matter as long as open membership was advertised

      this isn't just racism, it's discrimination and it's illegal.

    • 2 years ago
  • couldntfindausername
    • 0
      couldntfindausername  
    • couldntfindausername:

      Not ignoring anything, just refusing to get sucked into the self righteous hysterics.

      Find an EMS crew or a school that won't service a multi ethnic group and get bent out of shape over *that*.

      This is a swimming pool, and the shrillness makes all of us anti racists look silly.

    • 2 years ago
  • ras_menelik
  • Apocalipstick
    • 0
      Apocalipstick  

    • This is what their website currently reads:

      The Valley Club is deeply troubled by the recent allegations of racism which are completely untrue.

      We had originally agreed to invite the camps to use our facility, knowing full well that the children from the camps were from multi-ethnic backgrounds. Unfortunately, we quickly learned that we underestimated the capacity of our facilities and realized that we could not accommodate the number of children from these camps. All funds were returned to the camps and we will re-evaluate the issue at a later date to determine whether it can be feasible in the future.

      Our Valley Club deplores discrimination in any form, as is evidenced by our multi-ethnic and diverse membership. Whatever comments may or may not have been made by an individual member is an opinion not shared by The Valley Club Board.

    • 2 years ago
  • akamaial
  • akamaial
  • kennymotown
  • 2hellnwait
  • ras_menelik
  • 2hellnwait
  • kennymotown
  • kennymotown
    • 0
      kennymotown  

    • curtisreed, it's not your fault that Nixon gladly took the racist part of the democratic party back in the sixties when LBJ gave them equal rights, it's just the way the dixie crats went. And I guess that does mean a certain part of your party is racist.

    • 2 years ago
  • aerie
    • aerie  
    • This comment has been hidden for review.
  • xiola
    • 0
      xiola  
    • aerie:

      Are you serious? Are you just trying to anger people? Are you just sadly desperate for a reply? When you say "urban black kids" you just mean black kids, right? The club "advertises open membership." These minority patrons paid a large sum of money. If they are allowed in initally, they are allowed in. Period. You are the kind of person that makes me ashamed to be white! I assume you are white; perhaps you are unjustly privileged in some other way that makes you think you deserve something these kids don't. If your aim was to make me sick and sad, then congrats! Mission accomplished.

    • 2 years ago
  • curtisreed
    • 0
      curtisreed  
    • aerie:

      I understand the "desire" to keep the private club in good condition, which is why you punish the BEHAVIOR, not the RACE.

      They have rules posted around and can easily enforce them.

      I took my kids to a pool that was majority black (my kids are mixed, Latino/White) and there was no problem at all. The kids were exactly like all kids. Some were a bit rowdy, but my little boy was also. In fact, he shit in the kiddy pool that day (he was under two years old)...that was embarrassing.

      The point is, you don't just jump to the conclusion that kids will be worse because of their color. If a kid or two turn out to be assholes, you kick the individual out of the pool.

    • 2 years ago
  • metalcookiesxy70
  • kennymotown
  • unclecharlie
    • 0
      unclecharlie  
    • kennymotown:

      Well, when those who wish to repeal affirmative action and dump race based quotas are called "Uncle Toms" you can certainly believe we're not ready- but maybe in another 100 years or so.....As long as we have that, we will never have full equality- let everyone sink or swim on their own (no pun intended) and judge them (as MLK jr. said) by the content of their character and NOT by the color of their skin, which is what affirmative action and race based quotas do. (These bigots say "Your skin color is different than mine so I'm going to assume you're "disadvantaged.") Disagree with this notion, and one is labeled an "Uncle Tom". Yep, hopefully in another 100 years or so we will all be truly equal- because that's how long it's going to take.

    • 2 years ago
  • curtisreed
    • 0
      curtisreed  
    • kennymotown:

      I'm a conservative, so I've often taken issue with the idiots who try to portray conservatives and republicans as a bunch of racists. None of the conservatives I know believe that "racism does not exist". To the contrary.

      Where I think you err is that conservatives are equally outraged by this sort of horse shit as anyone else. But they also don't want Affirmative Action to become an excuse for Reverse Discrimination, as seen by the Ricci case endorsed (wrongly) by that IDIOT Sonia Sotomayor.

    • 2 years ago
  • ras_menelik
  • akamaial
  • xiola
  • 2helenahandbasket
  • titvol
    • 0
      titvol  

    • This is bullshit. Once they were in the pool the black kids should have stayed in and told the club to go fuck itself.

    • 2 years ago
  • MoonLoon
    • 0
      MoonLoon  

    • Sad, for the children involved. I am a minority in Nigeria and have always, with a few exceptions, been treated well. The kids getting out of the pool are afraid due to ignorance and the kids getting in are not aware of this fear. Very disturbing!

    • 2 years ago
  • unclecharlie
    • 0
      unclecharlie  

    • Absolutely unbelievable. This is 2009. Maybe they should rename the place "The Philadelphia Grand Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Swim Club." What would really be great would be to have CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) be the ones raising hell. You know that Jesse and Al would do it only for the narcissistic self promotion. NAACP only make asses of themselves, and aren't too interested in racial equality- they're too busy looking for racists under every rock and in every facet of American life. What would be REALLY great is if the deed to the club got turned over to Creative Steps, since the courts will rule against them anyways for their blatant racism. It will be interesting to see if this makes the papers.

    • 2 years ago
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