From Alternet, By Tim Wise

On the one hand, racism is so deeply embedded in the history and structure of the United States, that it shouldn’t be particularly surprising when a story emerges, indicating that indeed, said racism has bubbled to the surface yet again.

But on the other hand, sometimes a story finds its way into the public realm, which is of such a profoundly disturbing nature, that you can’t help but do a double-take: the kind of story that makes you go, huh? What the hell did I just read?

Like for sure you must have seen that headline wrong. Like you must have been teleported back in time fifty years or more, to a period when folks didn’t even feel the need to pretend they were racially enlightened. Like you must be hallucinating, or perhaps this is a satire you’re reading, maybe something from The Onion? And then you realize, nope, it’s for real.

And so it was just the other day, when a swim club on the outskirts of Philadelphia made the news after expelling from their pool a summer camp group of approximately sixty kids of color from the city. Not because they had done anything wrong–no bad behavior, no inappropriate conduct, nothing like that, as they had just arrived and most of the children hadn’t even had a chance to enter the pool yet–and not because they had crashed the private environs uninvited (the camp had paid over $1900 for the right to swim there once a week), but because, as club president, John Duesler explained in a letter: the kids would “change the complexion and atmosphere” of the club. Got that? The complexion.

Read The Whole story

UPDATE: Black Kids And Parents Reject Invitation To Return To Pool

OPINION: Racist Swim Club Reminds Us It’s The Same Old Philly

UPDATE: Philly Pool To Ask Black Kids Back

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