After the treatment the kids attending Creative Steps Day Camp received from The Valley Swim Club, a private school has welcomed the children to swim in its pool. (NBC):
[T]he staff at Girard College, a private Philadelphia boarding school for children who live in low-income and single parent homes, stepped in and offered their pool.
“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.
“I’m so excited,” camp director Alethea Wright exclaimed. There are still a few logistical nuisances—like insurance—the organizations have to work out, but it seems the campers will not stay dry for long.
And to sweeten the deal, the owners of Gumdrops & Sprinkles treated the kids to a free day of candy and ice cream making.
To think that The Valley Swim Club took the $1900 from Creative Steps Day Camp yet were so appalled when they actually deigned to show and they were—gasp—Negroes— that they gave the money back indicates they didn’t think the money wasn’t green enough to accept the “contamination” of the pool. I can’t think of more publicly inhumane behavior toward children in recent memory. It’s such a stain on his state that Arlen Specter is looking into this social (and PR) catastrophe.
I have a couple of questions, though. Let’s say that the state, and Specter talk to the club’s owners and the PR nightmare continues for The Valley Swim Club. The club has a couple of choices, and none are good (not that I feel sorry for these bigots). Lift their racist ban on POC, or claim right of assembly as a private club (that cannot possibly fly if they take money from non-members to access the facility—that’s public accommodation). So then they have to clean up their public relations mess by admitting minorities.
Do you think that members of the club will cancel their memberships in droves over this? I could see this happening because they were so casual in expressing their bigotry out in the open; certainly they will rebel against any notion that they have to socialize with human beings they see as “pickaninnies,” right
Take a look at some of the comments found at the article below the fold.