Pool Boots Kids Who Might "Change the Complexion"

[uab*mom]

Originally Posted by omgsweet

Hello...have they seen a picture of our president?

[vhdos]

Certainly NOT condoning this action, but was it typical to let 60 kids into the pool at one time? I am a member of a private pool and if 60 kids, of any race, came into the pool at one time, I'd probably leave (at least for the day). Just wondering if maybe there was more to this story?

[kate83675]

I wondered about the number too but if the club made the deal....they should have thought of that before they made the deal and took the money. But good grief! They're kids first and just want to have fun!

And people like to think the south is the only part of the country that is racist.

[claireZk]

Originally Posted by vhdos

Certainly NOT condoning this action, but was it typical to let 60 kids into the pool at one time? I am a member of a private pool and if 60 kids, of any race, came into the pool at one time, I'd probably leave (at least for the day). Just wondering if maybe there was more to this story?

I actually JUST read another version of this story where they said that the pool did not specifically ban black kids-- they banned CAMP KIDS, as in kids of all races who were part of camp groups...

[uab*mom]

Originally Posted by claireZk

I actually JUST read another version of this story where they said that the pool did not specifically ban black kids-- they banned CAMP KIDS, as in kids of all races who were part of camp groups...

Oh, because I thought it was "Creative Steps Day Camp paid Valley Swim Club" $1900 for one swim day a week..........

[LV-PRADAfanatic]

i am surpsied its happening...

[Jahpson]

Originally Posted by bagaholic85

this story seems so outrageous, im having a hard time believing it. i didnt know situations like this even existed anymore

yes it does. now we know

[sweetneet]

Originally Posted by kate83675

I wondered about the number too but if the club made the deal....they should have thought of that before they made the deal and took the money. But good grief! They're kids first and just want to have fun! And people like to think the south is the only part of the country that is racist.

i agree. i mean, their argument is, the club management agreed to let a group of 60 kids swim there, they accepted the payment for the membership, but then once the kids got there, they suddenly decided that they "didn't want too many kids there" and asked them to leave. Honestly, does that sound at all believable??

when I was growing up I was member of several swim clubs. i remember that at some clubs there would times when summer camps of like 50+ kids would come in. It was not a huge deal. I think that to avoid crowding, some of the smaller clubs would close its doors to everyone else for the hours when the large camps of kids came in (e.g. on Tuesdays from 1-5pm the pool would be reserved for the camp kids).

[sweetneet]

update from Associated Press (1 hour ago)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...xfL5QD99B8TA80

Camp: Private Pa. pool turned away minority kids
By RON TODT – 1 hour ago

HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa. (AP) — Members and officials of a private swimming pool in a predominantly white Philadelphia suburb reacted to a visiting group of minority children by asking them not to return and pulling other kids out of the water, a day camp director said, and the state is investigating.

The Creative Steps camp in northeast Philadelphia had contracted for the 65 children at the day camp to go each Monday afternoon to The Valley Club in Huntingdon Valley, camp director Alethea Wright said Thursday. But shortly after they arrived June 29, she said, some black and Hispanic children reported hearing racial comments.

"A couple of the children ran down saying, 'Miss Wright, Miss Wright, they're up there saying, "What are those black kids doing here?"'" she said.
The gated club is on a leafy hillside in a village that straddles two townships with overwhelmingly white populations. It says it has a diverse, multiethnic membership.

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."

Several days later, the club refunded the camp's $1,950 without explanation, said Wright, who added that some parents are "weighing their options" on legal action.

The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission will immediately investigate, chairman Stephen A. Glassman said Thursday.

"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."

The investigation was requested by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., issued a statement calling the allegations "extremely disturbing" and said he was looking into the matter.

The United States' highest-profile black swimmer, Olympic gold medalist Cullen Jones, said "hearing about what's happened to these 65 kids is both disturbing and appalling."

Chuck Wielgus, executive director of USA Swimming, the governing body for the U.S. swim team, was stunned at the accusations.

"This is the sort of thing you'd hear about in 1966, during the height of the civil rights movement, not in 2009, and not in the City of Brotherly Love, of all places," he said.

Club president John Duesler told Philadelphia television station WTXF that several club members complained because the children "fundamentally changed the atmosphere" at the pool but that the complaints didn't involve race.

In a statement released on its Web site Thursday afternoon, the club called the allegations of racial discrimination "completely untrue" and claimed overcrowding from more than one outside camp was the problem.

"We had originally agreed to invite the camps to use our facility, knowing full well that the children from the camps were from multiethnic backgrounds," it said. "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."
The club said it "deplores discrimination."

"Whatever comments may or may not have been made by an individual member is an opinion not shared by The Valley Club Board," it said.

Amy Goldman said she's been a member of the club for two years. She said the pool wasn't particularly crowded and the children from Creative Steps were "well behaved and respectful."

She said there had been black members at the club in the past, though she couldn't remember seeing any this year.

The club appeared closed Thursday afternoon, and the guard station at the entrance was unattended.

About two dozen protesters, most of them white, held signs in front of the club's locked gates and chanted slogans including, "Jim Crow swims here!"

Spencer Lewis, from Conshohocken, showed up with some young nieces and nephews and said he believes the club owes the children an apology.
"I don't believe everyone here has racist thoughts, but what was said was insulting and offensive," said Lewis, who's black.

Wright rejected the overcrowding explanation, saying the club covers 10 acres with a "nice-sized" pool and a separate pool for younger children. The board, she said, knew that her group included 65 children, and none of them had misbehaved.

"We were not welcome, once the members saw who we were," she said.
Wright said that the children were upset and that she was looking for a psychologist to speak to them next week. Some children have asked her whether they are "too dark" to swim in the pool, she said.

Day camp member Araceli Carvalho, 9, said she was upset when told she wouldn't be allowed to return.
"I said, 'That's not right,'" she said.
But when asked if she wants to return now, she said, "I don't want to swim here anymore."
Wright said Girard College, a boarding school for poor children in first through 12th grades, has offered to host the camp children for the summer.

AP Sports Writer Cliff Brunt in Indianapolis contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[HauteMama]

Originally Posted by vhdos

Certainly NOT condoning this action, but was it typical to let 60 kids into the pool at one time? I am a member of a private pool and if 60 kids, of any race, came into the pool at one time, I'd probably leave (at least for the day). Just wondering if maybe there was more to this story?

The club had contracted with the camp and knew there were up to 65 children attending. No pool could arrange this sort of contract without knowing the number of children attending so they could have lifeguards on duty and insurance options worked out. I don't buy for a second that they were suprised by the NUMBER of children.

[sweetneet]

i can't help but feel so bad for those kids. And the parents who will have to try to explain this kind of situation to them. It's really sad they got it from all sides, not just the club management but from some of the club members there too.

[sweetneet]

Originally Posted by HauteMama

The club had contracted with the camp and knew there were up to 65 children attending. No pool could arrange this sort of contract without knowing the number of children attending so they could have lifeguards on duty and insurance options worked out. I don't buy for a second that they were suprised by the NUMBER of children.

Exactly.

My hunch is that the club management asked the camp kids to leave mainly after seeing that the other club members were getting obviously uncomfortable after seeing 65 minority kids get in the pool. The club management then likely became afraid of eventually losing the membership of a good portion of its members (mostly non-minority, as the article described). The negative reaction of the other club members was the one thing the club management could not have anticipated happening before agreeing to the camp's membership contract, which is probably why the club initially accepted the membership & payment of the camp even while knowing full well that they were 65 kids and they were mostly minorities. Nonetheless, it is still discrimination and I hope the club pays for it in some form.

[Junkenpo]

Another reason why I'm glad I grew up in Hawaii. At least the beach is free & non-discriminatory.

[scarlett_2005]

Originally Posted by sweetneet

Exactly. My hunch is that the club management asked the camp kids to leave mainly after seeing that the other club members were getting obviously uncomfortable after seeing 65 minority kids get in the pool. The club management then likely became afraid of eventually losing the membership of a good portion of its members (mostly non-minority, as the article described). The negative reaction of the other club members was the one thing the club management could not have anticipated happening before agreeing to the camp's membership contract, which is probably why the club initially accepted the membership & payment of the camp even while knowing full well that they were 65 kids and they were mostly minorities. Nonetheless, it is still discrimination and I hope the club pays for it in some form.

I'm just so disgusted and sad that this crap is still going on today.

[meela188]

Originally Posted by sweetneet

update from Associated Press (1 hour ago) http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...xfL5QD99B8TA80 Camp: Private Pa. pool turned away minority kids By RON TODT – 1 hour ago HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa. (AP) — Members and officials of a private swimming pool in a predominantly white Philadelphia suburb reacted to a visiting group of minority children by asking them not to return and pulling other kids out of the water, a day camp director said, and the state is investigating. The Creative Steps camp in northeast Philadelphia had contracted for the 65 children at the day camp to go each Monday afternoon to The Valley Club in Huntingdon Valley, camp director Alethea Wright said Thursday. But shortly after they arrived June 29, she said, some black and Hispanic children reported hearing racial comments. "A couple of the children ran down saying, 'Miss Wright, Miss Wright, they're up there saying, "What are those black kids doing here?"'" she said. The gated club is on a leafy hillside in a village that straddles two townships with overwhelmingly white populations. It says it has a diverse, multiethnic membership. 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." Several days later, the club refunded the camp's $1,950 without explanation, said Wright, who added that some parents are "weighing their options" on legal action. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission will immediately investigate, chairman Stephen A. Glassman said Thursday. "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." The investigation was requested by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., issued a statement calling the allegations "extremely disturbing" and said he was looking into the matter. The United States' highest-profile black swimmer, Olympic gold medalist Cullen Jones, said "hearing about what's happened to these 65 kids is both disturbing and appalling." Chuck Wielgus, executive director of USA Swimming, the governing body for the U.S. swim team, was stunned at the accusations. "This is the sort of thing you'd hear about in 1966, during the height of the civil rights movement, not in 2009, and not in the City of Brotherly Love, of all places," he said. Club president John Duesler told Philadelphia television station WTXF that several club members complained because the children "fundamentally changed the atmosphere" at the pool but that the complaints didn't involve race. In a statement released on its Web site Thursday afternoon, the club called the allegations of racial discrimination "completely untrue" and claimed overcrowding from more than one outside camp was the problem. "We had originally agreed to invite the camps to use our facility, knowing full well that the children from the camps were from multiethnic backgrounds," it said. "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." The club said it "deplores discrimination." "Whatever comments may or may not have been made by an individual member is an opinion not shared by The Valley Club Board," it said. Amy Goldman said she's been a member of the club for two years. She said the pool wasn't particularly crowded and the children from Creative Steps were "well behaved and respectful." She said there had been black members at the club in the past, though she couldn't remember seeing any this year. The club appeared closed Thursday afternoon, and the guard station at the entrance was unattended. About two dozen protesters, most of them white, held signs in front of the club's locked gates and chanted slogans including, "Jim Crow swims here!" Spencer Lewis, from Conshohocken, showed up with some young nieces and nephews and said he believes the club owes the children an apology. "I don't believe everyone here has racist thoughts, but what was said was insulting and offensive," said Lewis, who's black. Wright rejected the overcrowding explanation, saying the club covers 10 acres with a "nice-sized" pool and a separate pool for younger children. The board, she said, knew that her group included 65 children, and none of them had misbehaved. "We were not welcome, once the members saw who we were," she said. Wright said that the children were upset and that she was looking for a psychologist to speak to them next week. Some children have asked her whether they are "too dark" to swim in the pool, she said. Day camp member Araceli Carvalho, 9, said she was upset when told she wouldn't be allowed to return. "I said, 'That's not right,'" she said. But when asked if she wants to return now, she said, "I don't want to swim here anymore." Wright said Girard College, a boarding school for poor children in first through 12th grades, has offered to host the camp children for the summer. AP Sports Writer Cliff Brunt in Indianapolis contributed to this report. Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

This just made me start crying, I'm not even an overly emotional person.