Vol. 73/No. 29      August 3, 2009

The demonstration was called by the Coalition to Save the Libraries, which had organized a successful public campaign to stop the closings of several libraries here from budget cuts. Zachary Hershman, a high school teacher and organizer, told the Militant that demonstrations have so far been held in five neighborhoods against pool closings.

“Like the libraries, the pools are a vital resource for the neighborhood,” he said. “Cutting the pools is an attack on our communities.”

At the rally, some protesters held signs saying, “Closing our pools = changing complexion of our city.” The sign refers to a statement released by the Valley Club, a private swim club in the suburb of Huntingdon Valley, after 65 Black and Latino children from the Creative Steps day camp swam in the club’s pool June 29.

The day camp, for youth from kindergarten through seventh grade, had contracted use of the club’s facilities after the city government closed the pool in their neighborhood. The Valley Club July 3 cancelled the contract and returned the camp’s $1,950 fee.

The action by the Valley Club has drawn charges of racial discrimination. The children have said that they heard club members make racial remarks and saw club parents escort their children from the pool.

Valley Club president John Duesler told two Philadelphia television stations that the children have changed the “complexion” and “atmosphere” of the club, according to press reports. Duesler later said the day camp’s contract was cancelled out of safety concerns due to overcrowding.

The club’s members voted nearly unanimously July 12 to offer to allow the youth to return to the pool, but “in a safe environment.” Creative Steps parents have declined the offer and plan to file a federal discrimination lawsuit.

The Pennsylvania Human Rights Commission is investigating the incident, and Sen. Arlen Specter has asked the Justice Department to look into whether the swim club violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Eric Braxton, another organizer for the Coalition to Save the Libraries, stated, “The discrimination faced by Creative Steps was just a more explicit version of the racism the campers faced when they were locked out of their neighborhood pool.”  
 
 
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