Friday, July 10, 2009

Is It The 1950s Again Already?

Aah, summer.
Hot breezes and lemonade. Grilling out back and tossing around the Frisbee. Splashing around in the pool.
And racism.
At least in Northern Philadelphia, where more than 60 campers from the Creative Steps Day Camp were turned away from a private swim club.
"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--a private club that advertises open membership--so their kids could swim, 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.
"There was concern that a lot of kids would change the complexion … and the atmosphere of the club," John Duesler, President of The Valley Swim Club said in a statement.
Change the complexion?
Ah, summer. Hot dogs and softball games. Picnics.
And racist bastards keeping black kids out of the pool.

7 comments:

  1. This is so dreadful I just do not know where to start?!?!?!?!?!?

    Kids......... change the complexion ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

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  2. Flummoxed that this happened in this day and age.

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  3. Anonymous10:46 AM

    Dem slave kids ought go swim in dat old man river.

    Is this 2009 USA or 1959 UoSA.

    Unbelievable. You guys with a black president an' all.

    Love

    Tigs.

    (the first bit was irony - I know some bigots don't get it so I need to explain)

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  4. Now if out of that busload of complexion challenged kids, they could pick out the gay ones, what then? they would have to be drowned? with no refund of course.

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  5. Anonymous3:54 PM

    Indeed, not much as changed in the last 50 years. In fact it seems as though it is getting worse.

    Case in point, it happens even here in little Providence, RI.

    One night I'm sitting out on the porch and a bunch of kids are walking down the street, a little loud but nothing else. That they happened to be mostly Black and Latino is the only salient factor

    About 15 minutes later a cop comes by. He asks if I saw the kids. I told him that I did and they were just walking and talking a little loud but not doing anything.

    The fact that one of my neighbors called the cops concerns me though. I know it's racist in nature.

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  6. GOD. Have they no shame??

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