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(Angry parents threatened lawsuits Thursday after a group of black and Hispanic campers were told to leave a private Philadelphia swim club. NBC's Ron Allen reports.)
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(A Philadelphia school with its own pool comes to the rescue of minority kids booted from a suburban swim club. WCAU's Deanna Durante reports.)
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Philly Area Swim Turns Away Black Children
Levittown - A suburban Philadelphia private swim club turned away children from a day camp after the camp's director says members questioned why black people were swimming there.
The children from the Creative Steps day camp in northeast Philadelphia were at the club June 29.
Executive Director Alethea Wright said Wednesday three children told her they heard members of The Valley Swim Club asking what blacks were doing there.
Wright says the club refunded the camp's swimming fees without explanation several days later.
Club President John Duesler tells Philadelphia television station WTXF that several club members complained because the children "fundamentally changed the atmosphere" at the pool, but the complaints didn't involve race.
Duesler did not immediately respond to messages left for him Wednesday by The Associated Press at the club and at his home.
Pool Boots Kids Who Might Change The Complexion
More than 60 campers from Northeast Philadelphia were turned away from a private swim club and left to wonder if their race was the reason.
"I heard this lady, she was like, 'Uh, what are all these black kids doing here?' She's like, 'I'm scared they might do something to my child,'" said camper Dymire Baylor.
The Creative Steps Day Camp paid more than $1900 to The Valley Swim Club. The Valley Swim Club is a private club that advertises open membership. But the campers' first visit to the pool suggested otherwise.
"When the minority children got in the pool all of the Caucasian children immediately exited the pool," Horace Gibson, parent of a day camp child, wrote in an email. "The pool attendants came and told the black children that they did not allow minorities in the club and needed the children to leave immediately." The next day the club told the camp director that the camp's membership was being suspended and their money would be refunded. "I said, 'The parents don't want the refund. They want a place for their children to swim,'" camp director Aetha Wright said. Campers remain unsure why they're no longer welcome. "They just kicked us out. And we were about to go. Had our swim things and everything," said camper Simer Burwell.
The explanation they got was either dishearteningly honest or poorly worded. "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.
While the parents await an apology, the camp is scrambling to find a new place for the kids to beat the summer heat.
Members of the club came forward Thursday to defend the organization. They call the situation a misunderstanding.
Swim Club Members: "Nothing to Do With Race"
The waters were still and the gates locked at the Valley Swim Club Thursday. 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.
Creative Steps Day Camp paid The Valley Swim Club more than $1900 for one day of swimming a week, but after the first day, the money was quickly refunded and the campers were told not to return. Several campers said they heard pool members making racial remarks during their time inside the club.
Tempers further flared after the club's president John Duesler issued a statement Tuesday saying "There was concern that a lot of kids would change the complexion … and the atmosphere of the club."
Club members, who were at the pool on the day of the incident, came forward Thursday to defend the organization.
"This has nothing to do with race," member Lori Slowinski said. "I paid my money for a private swim club…if they're gonna have it out to camps, then I want my money back."
Jim Flynn went right to the club president after the kids took the plunge into the pool. "I was the first person to talk to the president, because the pool was overcrowded," said Flynn. "As members we have nothing to hide. There's good people here."
He believes the club's closure for fear of protests is wrong. "I do not condone the club being closed today and I will not condone it."
Members are angry the club, which is advertising open enrollment, inked deals with three camps to have campers come in and swim. They say members were not notified about allowing the camps to attend the club.
The club issued this statement late Thursday, responding to the allegations of racism:
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.
Daniel Veres, a 16-year old Hispanic teen who is also a member, says the entire situation is just a misunderstanding. "We're not judgmental, we're just friendly," Veres said of the mostly white club.
For the children involved, the entire situation has left them simply sad and confused.
"I heard one lady saying 'Why's there so many black kids here' cause she said she was afraid that we might do something to her child," recalled camper Dymire Baylor. "How could they say that?"
If given the chance, the campers say they wouldn't step foot in the swim club, but they will be able to swim once again this summer. Girard College, a private Philadelphia boarding school for children who live in low-income and single parent homes, stepped in and offered their pool to Creative Steps.
"We had to help," said Girard College director of Admissions Tamara Leclair. "Every child deserves an incredible summer camp experience."
The school already serves 500 campers of its own, but felt they could squeeze in 65 more -- especially since the pool is vacant on the day the Creative Steps had originally planned to swim at Valley Swim Club.
The situation has become the center of national and international attention -- from bloggers to people on the street to the Anti-Defamation League, many are angry over the move to ban the kids. Even U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) plans to launch an investigation into the discrimination claim.
"The allegations against the swim club as they are reported are extremely disturbing," Specter said in a statement. "I am reaching out to the parties involved to ascertain the facts. Racial discrimination has no place in America today."
He sent a letter to Duesler and the club's board Thursday denouncing their actions.
Dozens of protesters were also denouncing the club's decision. Chanting "Jim Crow swims here," they held signs high while parading by the entrance to the club Thursday night. The signs read, "'Privately' excluding some stains everyone's complexion," "Drown racism" and "Good enough for the White House, but not the swim club."
"It feels like I stepped into a weird time warp," said protester Spenser Lewis. He says its a time that "should be gone."
Swim Club Denies Racist Allegations
HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa. - In a statement posted on its Web site Thursday afternoon, a swim club said accusations that it discriminated against a day camp for minority children were untrue.
The Valley Club doesn't have the capacity to deal with outside groups and returned money to more than one day camp, the club said.
Alethea Wright, director of Creative Steps, a summer camp for minority children, said the organization paid for weekly swim time at the pool. But during a trip there June 29 some of the children said they heard people asking what "black kids" were doing at the club, Wright said.
In its statement, the swim club called its membership diverse and said any comments that may or may not have been made by members are not shared by its board.
Commission plans investigation:
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission said it will investigate the allegations that the club kicked out black and Hispanic children.
Commission Chairman Stephen A. Glassman said the NAACP requested the investigation.
Creative Steps, in northeast Philadelphia, had contracted for the 65 children at the day camp to go each Monday afternoon, Wright said. 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?'"
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 payment without explanation, said Wright, who added that some parents are "weighing their options" on legal action.
Senator issues statement:
Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., issued a statement calling the allegations "extremely disturbing" and said he was looking into the matter.
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.
The club's telephone message system was full and a message could not be left there by The Associated Press; Duesler did not return calls to his home.
A club member told a newspaper that she understood the problem was the size of the group, not race. But Wright rejected that 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 the children were upset, and that she was looking for a psychologist to speak to them next week. Some have asked her whether they are "too dark" to swim in the pool, she said.
"I'm not going to validate this behavior by adults," Wright said. "It's unacceptable. This is preposterous, and I won't stand for it."
Private school lends a hand:
Girard College, a private Philadelphia boarding school for children who live in low-income and single-parent homes, has offered to host the children for the summer, and a meeting was scheduled later Thursday to work out the details.
"We had to help," admissions director Tamara Leclair told WCAU, a NBC affiliate station. "Every child deserves an incredible summer camp experience."
The school already serves 500 campers but felt it could squeeze in 65 more, especially since its pool is unused on the day the Creative Steps group had planned to swim at Valley Swim Club.
In another gesture of goodwill, the owners of Gumdrops & Sprinkles treated the kids to a free day of candy and ice cream-making, WCAU reported.
Swim Club Offers Apology To Minority Children It Turned Away
Philadelphia's Valley Swim Club has apologized for turning away dozens of young swimmers from a local minority-based summer camp and denies their intentions were race-based.
Jim Flynn says he was at the Valley Swim Club on June 29 the day 65 mostly minority kids from Creative Steps Day Camp were at the pool.
Flynn admits he is the first one who complained to the president of the board about the campers, but denied race was the reason. He says he was worried about safety because of overcrowding.
On Tuesday the Valley Swim Club's board president said there was concern a lot of kids "would change the complexion and atmosphere of the club".
A second statement was issued on Thursday:
"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."
Members say two other camps that are not minority based have also been told not to come back and given a refund.
Children from Creative Steps Day Camp reported hearing racist remarks, but members willing to talk to reporters denied those allegations.
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Sources: MSNBC, NBC Philadephia, Gawker, The Grio, Google Maps
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