In July 56 children from the Creative Steps day camp were kicked out of a swimming pool at the Valley Swim Club. This happen despite the fact that Creative Steps paid the swim club $1900 to use the pool for the summer. Remember the cringe-worthy explanation from the club?
“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.
One parent filed a complaint against the Valley Swim Club with the state of Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. The commission released a report, which to almost no one’s surprise, concluded race was the reason the club revoked the Creative Steps’ contract and ordered the club to pay a $50,000 fine to one camper.
In one e-mail to another Valley Club official, board member George Whitehill wrote, “Race is an issue since every e-mail of complaint mentioned race, although stating that, race had nothing to do with the complaint. It only takes one out of the 120 parents to make this an issue, and at no cost to them.”
So the email complaints started “it’s not because they’re black but…” I wonder if the emails noted that the sender had black friends? The attorney for the swim club had the following response:
“Because of the mischaracterization of the media, the Human Relations Commission was under too much pressure to find anything but what they found,” Tucker said. “It was a fait accompli once the media got ahead of the facts.”
Does the Valley Swim Club even recognize what they did was wrong?
For the curious, here is the whole report. (warning: PDF)