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Philadelphia Private Swim Club Forces Out Black Children
Update: The public email and phone number for The Valley Swim Club is 215-947-0700 and info@thevalleyclub.com. The President of the club is John Duesler.
Updated July 9: The Michael Smerconish Program interviewed an eyewitness named "Jan," who is a member of The Valley Swim Club. Jan says the children from The Creative Steps Day Camp were very well-behaved, and the camp supervisors were highly attentive. This puts a dent in the argument that, perhaps, the children were behaving in an overly rowdy fashion, which is why they were ejected.
NBC reports that more than 60 African-American campers from Northeast Philadelphia were turned away from a private swim club because -- according to John Duesler, President of The Valley Swim Club -- "there was concern that a lot of kids would change the complexion ... and the atmosphere of the club."
It may surprise some Americans to learn that not only do certain private clubs still refuse to admit African-Americans, women, and gay people, but that this kind of enrollment discrimination is considered perfectly legal.
While the total number of private clubs is unknown, there are around at least 4,000 private golf clubs, according to Golf Digest. Of course, since these clubs are private, their exact enrollment standards aren't part of the public record, so there is no way to know for sure if they discriminate against ethnic minorities, women, or homosexuals. Furthermore, even if they do adopt official "white males only" policies, these practices are considered "legal" in some jurisdictions, though many clubs have been sued for discrimination.
Because of the shroud of secrecy surrounding enrollment at private clubs, these discriminatory practices usually only come to light when the media catches a prominent politician on the fairway. Katon Dawson, South Carolina GOP chairman and former candidate for the RNC chair, was forced to resign from the Forest Lake Club after members made public the fact that the club has a whites-only restriction and no black members. Then there was Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), who hosted a golf fundraiser at a whites-only club back in 2000 along with then-lawmakers Bob Ney and Tom DeLay.
Back in 1992, Bill Clinton was accused of attending an all-white private golf club, though Mark Grobmeyer, the Little Rock lawyer who played at the club with Clinton, denied there was a "no blacks" policy. Why were there no black players then? Mr. Grobmeyer replied, "None have applied."
President Kennedy was once challenged by future Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg, over his membership at the Links Country Club because the club excluded Jews from membership. President Kennedy reportedly chuckled and replied, "Hell, Arthur, they don't even allow Catholics."
This recent case of discrimination at the Philadelphia club is merely a continuation of discriminatory admission standards. Such official bans on non-Anglo Saxon men may seem superfluous considering outrageous membership fees are usually enough deterrence to keep non-white people off the golf courses and out of the pools, but when The Creative Steps Day Camp managed to pay the $1900 for their young campers to enter The Valley Swim Club, the staff resorted to drastic measures.
"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."
Remarks like that make it difficult to remember that it's 2009. According to attorney Benjamin Leedy, another shameful episode occurred a little over a decade ago when Hall Thompson, founder of the all-white Shoal Creek club in Birmingham, AL (site of the 1990 PGA Championship,) declared that his club would not be pressured into accepting African-American members. "This is our home, and we pick and choose who we want," he said.
Leedy cites another recent example in 2003 at the Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters, where Martha Burke, head of the National Council of Women's Organizations, demanded that the club allow women to become members. Hootie Johnson chairman of Augusta National, responded "There may well come a day when women will be invited to join our membership, but that timetable will be ours and not at the point of a bayonet."
In 2001, Birgit Koebke and Kendall French, a lesbian couple registered as domestic partners under the California Domestic Partner Rights and Responsibilities Act of 2003, sued Bernardo Heights Country Club alleging that the club discriminated against them on the basis of sexual orientation. The club's membership privileges were only available to members' spouses and children, but not to members' domestic partners. In 2005, the California Supreme Court concluded "that since, under California law, registered domestic partners have rights equivalent to legal spouses, the question of whether the club's practice of granting playing privileges to members' spouses but not to members' registered domestic partners constituted unlawful discrimination under California's anti-discrimination law must be left to a jury decide."
This most recent case of discrimination in Philadelphia is particularly sinister because it involves banishing children. "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.
What a terrible lesson to teach two children -- one white and one black. The white child learns to fear those who are different from them. The black child learns there is something "wrong" and "dirty" about their very existence. Hopefully, another more enlightened swim club will welcome the campers from The Creative Steps Day Camp, who are now looking for a place to keep cool during the summer.
Cross-posted from Allison Kilkenny's blog. Also available on Facebook and Twitter.
Follow Allison Kilkenny on Twitter: www.twitter.com/allisonkilkenny
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I see a lot of emotions here...
One person is saying "... that is all you need to know..." - sorry, let me decide what I need to know...
Speaking about racism and minorities - I think today the traditional meaning of "minority" is about to change (just pure statistics), so white people will be a minority soon in this country.
There are 4 top city positions in Philadelphia were taken by African-Americans - should white people feel themselves as minority? Should white people feel that ridiculous city taxes are in favor to black people who want to receive an endless well-fare?
By the way, have you heard about black racism related to whites and non-explainable minorities privileges? Please don't answer No - that will be a lie.
Speaking about children - I believe camp managers could come in-person to the club before the kinds visit to take a look and make appropriate conclusions. Probably - to split kinds by 2 or 3 groups and make 2 or 3 visits with smaller groups.
So, my summary is: let's put emotions aside and find out who personally was doing what? How arrangements for the visit were made? And why is it happened that nobody (neither club managers nor Camp administrators) realized that this amount of kinds is a little bit too much for that pool?
But this requires hard routine "invisible" works, instead people decided to make their names publicly visible using kids as a "poster" - that is really sad!!!
This one is just too easy, which makes it all the more dangerous to advocate personal harassment of these people in their workplace. That's just wrong, Allison.
How many guests of the club were there on a Monday? More than the club anticipated? How many of the campers were in the pool at one time?
Think about it: Bring 60 club members to a pool, and maybe 15 will be in the water at one time. Bring 60 day-campers to a private pool, and over 50 will leap in, so delighted for the opportunity.
I hate to say it, but I find the "underestimated the capacity" argument plausible enough.
Now, whether there were racists at the pool that day, among the private members, quite possibly. As in any private gathering. But that's different from concluding/convicting the club management of overtly racist behavior, as all the press seems to be doing.
When everyone gangs up at once, watch out for mob mentality.
But all the campers were asked to leave,and the stated reason to them was minorities were not allowed.
The Valley Swim Club could legally discriminate against any group under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000a or Title II since it is a private club not open to the public. It would have the burden of proof that it is a private club, and that burden would have been met butfor the fact that Mr. Duesler has openly said that he opened his private club to the public in at least two instances (for summer day camps) and accepted money for such service. As such, The Valley Swim Club is now a place of "public accomodation" (this comes right out of the soda fountains cases, and lunch counters from the 50's and 60's people), and its acceptance of fees for the pool's use places them within the stream of commerce (the two criteria needed to make a private club, public and open to discriminatory laws). As such, Mr. Duesler and the Valley Swim Club should get a very good lawyer (perhaps one that knows the judge or where the lawyer and judge go to an exclusive country club like the Valley Swim Club).
If this private club may have the legal right to keep certain people out, I don't know that there's much that can be done. I agree with the last point of the article, the lesson that the episode teaches to the white kid and to the black kid. All I can say is, I hope those kids find a place to swim where all people are welcome, and leave these other people behind to wallow in their narrow, vanishing world.
Akron police say they aren't ready to call it a hate crime or a gang initiation.
But to Marty Marshall, his wife and two kids, it seems pretty clear.
It came after a family night of celebrating America and freedom with a fireworks show at Firestone Stadium. Marshall, his family and two friends were gathered outside a friend's home in South Akron.
Out of nowhere, the six were attacked by dozens of teenage boys, who shouted ''This is our world'' and ''This is a black world'' as they confronted Marshall and his family.
The Marshalls, who are white, say the crowd of teens who attacked them and two friends June 27 on Girard Street numbered close to 50. The teens were all black.
http://www.ohio.com/news/50172282.html
Please explain how this has anything to do with the Black kids in Philadelphia and a swimming pool?
Dear Community,
The event at the Valley Swim Club is deeply troubling. It is troubling because it represents an act of alleged and probable racism and it is troubling because it represents not only an act but a continued attitude of racial superiority that should no longer have room in our hearts and minds.
It has offended all of us.
Such offensive values will continue to spread if we do not overcome them when they arise. It would be preferable to do so, as such actions against hatred and violence only strengthen our bonds as a community . It would be preferable for our longevity as a culture to no longer stand passively by while allowing exclusionary perspectives to dominate our businesses, clubs, and institutions.
This is an opportunity for all of us and the seed of a potential victory for all of us to stand together and tell the Valley Swim Club how much their actions have offended us. They need to be held accountable for their deed which upheld no standard of dignity to community or to humanity anywhere.
They need to apologize, in public.
Let's mobilize a noncooperatiion force against the racism that they have spread. Cooperation would mean that we allow them to not be held accountable--Noncooperation means going in masses to this swim club and asking for entry. It means nonviolent engagement outside of the building if you are not allowed inside. It means seeking to change the politics of this club.
Stephanie Van Hook
Text currently found on the website:
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.
With the comments of some of the children which had been already made public, this is like my daughter telling me she did not raid the cookie jar, but with crumbs on her lips.., I ain't buyin it!!!!
Their website has been reduced to a note - a desperate explanation of what happened.
http://www.thevalleyclub.com/
Thanks for the link. They should be sued and shamed.
What a dreadful disappointment for the children. The management of the swim club should be reprimanded about the handling of this incident. It sounds like the children were well behaved and caused no problems.
I do wonder what the number of children allowed in the pool at one time is. Some clubs have rules that each minor who has not passed a swim test must be accompanied by an adult. Does anyone know how many adults were with the children or if they children had passed the swim test? Too many children are drowned in pools when there is inadequate supervision by responsible adults.
So this story is on CNN? How about MSNBC?
Gotta draw that line. What if the Irish kids showed up next, heaven forbid.
It doesn't matter. I saw the interview on CNN with one of the little boys who is apart of the day camp. It broke my heart. How do you as an adult say, "Why are theses little black kids here?". "I don't want them playing with my children". They have received their refund but how do you think that little boy felt? You're taught that you're not different from anybody else but some people in society tell you that you are. They should be ashamed.
I saw some interviews too, there was 7 and 8 year old kids being interviewed and they were answering while staring off into the distance as if they were recalling what to say from memory. And their statements were with vocabulary no child of that age would use. Clearly coached.
As I said last night, at the end of the day, it will be demonstrated that this day camp has engaged in severe defamation of this swim club. I can smell a civil suit of some sort.
What would this day camp have to gain from that? Your post makes no sense.
Let us not forget that these are children we are talking about here. So for it to be looked at as a non racist action is wrong. Obviously a check was written and a form had to be signed. So how could one not know that 65 children were going to be attending? How naive can you be? Then for all those who object about this being racist answer this comment that was made by the Club President. We live in america Land of the Free my friends. Built by immigrants. SO majority of you who comment ancesters came from some where over seas. Get a grip!
"But Duesler told two Philadelphia television stations that the children had changed "the complexion" and "atmosphere" of the club."
Sad to say, but it is often noted that the most segregated time of the week in the US is Sunday morning. While I find the concept of a private club discriminating against certain groups offensive, almost all groups have private clubs that exclude anyone not like them.
THE VALLEY SWIM CLUB
22 TOMLINSON RD HUNTINGDON VALLEY, PA 19006
(215) 947-0700
info@thevalleyclub.com
And here's their Yelp page, leave them a bad review:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/valley-swim-club-huntingdon-valley
I am so appalled by this in 2009, and to think this happened to children. I hope this club will suffer with multiple lawsuits that they are forced to close.
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