60 black kids kicked out of Philly pool; Might 'Change the Complexion'...

Board members decided to close the private Huntington Valley, Pa. club for the day as it combats accusations of racism for booting 65 mostly minority day campers from its grounds without explanation late last month.

From a letter written by the club:
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.
www.nbcphiladelphia.com...

[edit on 9-7-2009 by MOFreemason]

The 60 children could have been turned down for a number of reasons. If they were turned away because of the something they did on the previous trip then they should have been notified before they left. It is very likely that it is racism.
Do black children flee when they are outnumbered by whites? No. The truth is that I have never met a white person that could deal with being the minority. It is just not something they are used to and so that could explain the white children getting out of the pool. The reason these people belong to a private club is to be exclusive.
I am mixed black/Mexican and I grew up in a country club. My family was white and I can tell you from my experience that white people are affraid. Many of them are scared and very uneasy around other races, especially black people. The country club tried to deny me entrance to the pool telling me that I was not a member. Not only was I a member but I lived three houses down from the club house.
I remember a time when my white stepsister came home looking uneasy. She began to rant about how she was the only white person on the elevator and how uncomfortable she was. You see, white people love their comfort zone, who doesn't? It's just that whites are used to power in numbers. Take that away and you have some weak people. I remember thinking "why is she telling me this"? What you experienced for 1 minute, I experience 24/7. White people will never see it or admit to it if they do.
This shouldn't be black vs white, but right vs wrong. They were wrong for turning away 60 children just trying to be like everyone else and have fun. Racism will never end but that doesn't mean we can't do our best to expose it.
To the white people that say blacks just go around crying about racism. Being mixed and growing up in a white family gave me the unique experience of seeing just how privelaged white people are. It's a joke if you think you experience anything even close to what blacks and other minorities experience!

well of course I would have turned them away for being black in philadelphia. Black people are more likely to shoot, rob, steal...And I am from philadelphia (aka Killadelphia). It is different in other cities. They were children...less likely to do something like that. But if they were older...i would have patted them all down

[edit on 9-7-2009 by THE_PROFESSIONAL]

I haven't read all the reply's, but I'll guess it's blah blah blah racism this and that.


It's a private pool, they can create any standards that want. if they let in any old riff raff it would be a public pool.

Who's to say the club applying for admission didn't lie by omission?

Could someone say Mensa is racist/discriminating because they won't let an 85IQ person join?

there money was refunded when they saw the problems caused, so whats the big deal? no loss no cry.

go find another pool

Any 60 plus Black kids in Philadelphia show up any where they are getting kicked out even at a rap concert ,

reply to post by JulieMills


Agreed it should not matter what there skin color is 60 screaming and wild kids as I am sure they were at lest blusteriest would disrupt my good time and if I pay good money to be a member I would want them gone. now it does disturb me a little bit as all the white kids got out of the pool when the minority kids got in so what caused that do you think?

Ahhh here we go! This is the type of racism we are more accustomed to experiencing.

HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa. – The head of a suburban Philadelphia swim club says safety, not racism, was the reason for the cancellation of the memberships of dozens of minority children.

John Duesler spoke to reporters Friday afternoon at the entrance to The Valley Club in Huntingdon Valley.

Duesler says there were too many children for the size of the pool and the available number of lifeguards. He says that it was "an unsafe situation" and that officials deeply regret the situation.

Creative Steps day camp had arranged for 65 mostly black and Hispanic children to swim each week. Director Alethea (ah-LEE'-thee-ah) Wright says children reported hearing racial comments shortly after they arrived.

She says the camp's money was refunded a few days later. The state is investigating the club's actions.

kids will be kids...

just how bad are minority 11 years olds? even if they were acting up that 1 time they were there, how much different are they from the white kids? if it was a case of them acting up or overcrowding from the 1st time, how come the club didnt come to them about it in a different way?

i will say its an 80% chance of racism... remember.... philly isnt the most 'brotherly' city historically when it comes to race... and then remember. it the isolated suburbs. plenty of scared white moms, terrified of seeing some black n spanish kids running around their bubbled and isolated white kids...

they are 10 n 11 year olds, but i can easily assume all these people see when they see a black/brown crowd is drugs,rape,violence.

ok i think i have to say a couple of things...

First off, I think this site has been infiltrated....

How else could this thread continue, its not even debate.

Everytime a point is made here the counter point is "But I know some rowdy black kids in my neighborhood" I mean seriously, i bet you there also know rowdy white kids too. It depends on your area, and also its getting very generalized. which is scary on a scientific forum.

I hope the moderators on ths board i watching this, personally i am just surprised that everyone is like "OH i hate it when they play the race card" WHAT is a race card exsactly? when a situation envolves racist acts?

HONESTLY if you read the FACTS the parents of the minorities were racist.... PARENTS quoted byt their OWN children making racial comments. I HAVE NO IDEA IF THE PARENTS WERE EVEN WHITE. BUT THIS BOARD HAS MADE THAT ASSSUMTION. ?????????/????????

now as for making white people seem racist and black people as victims.

Heres a fact for you, ALOT of white people are racist, and honestly i didnt think any of them were on this board......

UNTIL I READ THE RESPONSES TO THIS BOARD.

BUT then i though, If i were an "Disinformation agent, or Infiltrater" this would be an oppertunity to create Distrust and create a division in the ranks of ATS. Dont we have enough of that in the world, i ask that any comments not condusive to debate, or adding to FACTS (not where i live... or other types of heresay) stop. I believe ats is a good place. with good people. Please dont make me change my mind.

Well seems we have a new development in the story. Here is the link Swim Club Welcomes Back Minorities. i wonder what made them have a change of heart? It seems that they canceled the contracts of two other daycare centers as well.

Could it be that they just turned them away because it was overcrowded and the white folks just made racist comments? Too hard to judge in my book.

If i was in the that situation, i wouldn't even go back. I'm sure somebody else would enjoy the color the money just as much.

Originally posted by KingAtlas
I think this site has been infiltrated....

By who?


Information here

The kids were kicked out for SAFETY REASONS.
Too many rowdy camp kids filled the pool without enough life guards.
The pool has fixed the situation and has invited the kids back.

It was the pools fault for not having enough life guards for the situation.
It was the fault of the kids for being rowdy and not following pool safety procedures.

(and yes, at our pool WHITE kids get kicked out for being rowdy)

The situation has been fixed.

I have been listening to this story on the radio the past few days.

Its still quite a murky situation, yet many have made up their minds what actually happened.

I cant say I really believe the claims of the young people who stated they heard racial and derogatory comments from some adults.
Wich really does throw a wrench in the rest fo the racial claim imo.

When I was young I would have lied and twisted the facts if I had to get back on a bus without being able to swim.

Supposedly the club turned away another camp consisting of mainly white kids.

It appears many "minorities" have aquired the club presidents home phone number and it sounds as though they are calling and harassing his family.

Also no matter what your color, if your going to show up 2,3,4 bus loads thick.. maybe you should set up a more reliable location and make sure your getting catered to exlusivly.

reply to post by Mailman


But they booked and paid for the facility in advance. So did the club not know that they took $1900 for 60 kids to use the pool? I doubt it. How come they didn't take the necessary steps to make sure the pool was going to be safe? Put yourself in the booking office of this camp. Wouldn't you ask "how many in your party"? It amazes me that people twist and ignore the facts to fit their own prejudices. Can someone point out to me where it was said that the kids were misbehaving, because I have not read or seen that on Tv, but yet most people here assume that the black kids must have been acting up and that's why they were kicked out. Maybe I missed it, but I doubt it.

The only thing they didn't know in advance is that these campers were black, that is the only bit of information that you can't get over the phone."What your credit card #, and by they way are you black?"

There is another thread on ATS asking why Aliens haven't landed...ummmm, I wonder why?????????

[edit on 14-7-2009 by canihavemyvoteback]

reply to post by canihavemyvoteback


You make valid points and I have to agree.

I have to wonder though for an established day camp, it doesnt seem like this was their regular source for a trip to go swimming. I would imagine its more the norm for these places to be in contact with the same clubs year after year. Maybe that is the case here, but it just doesnt sound like it. I would actualy like to know this bit of info.

This seems a little confusing but,

from what I get is that there was a private swim club who used this particular facility. They paid a price to be in this private club and were promised that only their members would be using the pool during their time there.

The facility went a head and "sold" time at the pool to several different camps unrelated to this private club. When the camp kids showed up at the pool during the private clubs time period/day this caused the issue at hand.

So it appears the "facility" itself is to blame for this, for over booking or double/triple booking.


I used to rent local ice/arena's with friends in the winter, so we could get a game of hockey going or a practice. We even rented Maple Leaf Gardens once. Former home of the Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL). Anyway, if we rented the ice and then a bunch of other unknown/uninvited people showed up, we would be p.o'ed.

This seems no different to me.

Just my two cents worth here...If I were swimming in any pool and 60 kids of any decent hopped in, I would be quickly exiting due to general health aspect

Racism? Er...depends on the exact words you define it.

Losing money from when all of their white folk threatened to leave?
Hell yeah!

They were in a pickle. Lose lots of money and keep the black group, or get rid of the black group and keep their past customers (more than likely resulting in more money than the latter).

Thats how I see it.

Seriously folks...this is about as "RACIST" as BET selecting who they want on THEIR show.

The owners of this swim club aren't racist, the other customers are. They are also rich and white I assume, the customers that is (more sway).

Now what side do I support? Hard to say...seems like a bad business move to even get stuck in that situation in the first place.

I'll take the swim clubs side if they do some serious refunding, apologies, and maybe a few extra gifts thrown in there. **** ups aren't free...unless you are a bank or car manufacturer!

Originally posted by TwinBee101
I remember a time when my white stepsister came home looking uneasy. She began to rant about how she was the only white person on the elevator and how uncomfortable she was. You see, white people love their comfort zone, who doesn't? It's just that whites are used to power in numbers. Take that away and you have some weak people. I remember thinking "why is she telling me this"? What you experienced for 1 minute, I experience 24/7. White people will never see it or admit to it if they do.
This shouldn't be black vs white, but right vs wrong. They were wrong for turning away 60 children just trying to be like everyone else and have fun. Racism will never end but that doesn't mean we can't do our best to expose it.
To the white people that say blacks just go around crying about racism. Being mixed and growing up in a white family gave me the unique experience of seeing just how privelaged white people are. It's a joke if you think you experience anything even close to what blacks and other minorities experience!

You are absolutely ridiculous.

EVERYBODY, white or not, seeks a kind of security and sense of belonging that comes with numbers. And to say that should that be taken away from, not people in general, but whites alone, is racist in the extreme and I would ask you to reassess your statement. I'm usually not one to make sweeping generalizations, but seeing as we're on the topic, Twinbee, WE are the people who went off into the world and colonized foreign lands where we were the tiny minority, and in no case did these colonists all of a sudden go weak at the knees and run off home simply because they felt outnumbered.

I'm not saying that I support that process of colonization, what I'm saying is that your statement highlighted above is total bs and you should stop spreading such nonsense on the internet.

Being mixed and growing up in a white family gave you unique experience of seeing how privileged the members of THAT PARTICULAR WHITE FAMILY are. You really think the people down at the trailer park in places like Flint, Michigan, whose only real job prospects are in places like the army, would be any more welcome at your parent's country club?

You might say "Well, if they had the money, perhaps." That may be true, but the reality is that they don't. You make it sound like we all live in McMansions and on the weekends drive our SUVs down to the country club to discuss those whiny and annoying minorities that we all secretly hate, living like lords and ladies of the manor. We don't, life's a struggle for many people, and that includes white people.

I am not saying that racism isn't still prevalent in today's society, on the contrary we see it demonstrated by the people at the swimming pool in question, the people at your parent's country club and, of course, you. It is a problem that we must remain vigilant in fighting, but the battle can't be won if certain races are declared ripe for racist insult.

I don't assign blacks this characteristic simply because a greater proportion of blacks than whites are in street gangs, nor do I do the same for other races, I assign it to humanity as any reasonable human being would as that is the position that all the evidence points me towards. I don't believe that characteristics can be assigned to people simply based upon their skin color, you may have argued that this phenomenon of "strength in numbers" was a cultural phenomenon, but you did not, instead asserting that this was something that could be directly attributed to a person's race.

This is why you are a racist.

Originally posted by TwinBee101
Racism will never end but that doesn't mean we can't do our best to expose it.

Absolutely true.

This was far too long, but I have a habit of getting caught up in the moment.

I truly believe this was a case of size, not racism.

Rules are rules, why should they not apply simply because these kids are Black. The club has every right to turn away any members it deems unfit or unruly of membership.