Swim club that booted black kids under the microscope
UPDATE: A member of the swim club just tried to defend the club on CNN. Developing…
The sign outside the The Valley Club in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, near Philly, reads: “Swimming since 1954,” the same year the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board decision touched off the integration of America’s schools. Apparently, the Club’s president and some of its membership are living in 1953. In case you missed it, watch the story:
Watch the CNN version of the story, which is absolutely heartbreaking, here.
The Club is now under investigation by Pennsylvania authorities:
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission will immediately open an investigation into the actions of The Valley Club in the leafy suburb of Huntington Valley, chairman Stephen A. Glassman said.
“The rule of law in Pennsylvania is equal opportunity for all, regardless of race,” Glassman said Thursday in a written statement released by his office.
“Allegedly, this group was denied the use of a pool based on their race,” Glassman said. “If the allegations prove to be true, this is illegal discrimination in Pennsylvania.”
Arlen Spector (up for re-election, now as a Democratic Senator) is looking into it too, and the shameful situation has gone international … The most wrenching line from the AP story:
[The kids' camp director, Alethea] Wright said that the children were upset and that she was looking for a psychologist to speak to them. Some children have asked her whether they are “too dark” to swim in the pool, she said.
Luckily, the kids have been offered a new place to swim. But where do they go to get their innocence back? The Valley Club website has been replaced by the following statement:
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.
Are you buying that? No? me neither. By the way, it should be noted that the group that was ejected by the Valley Club included both black AND Hispanic kids.
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