Remember the minority kids of a day care center who were kicked out of a Pennsylvania swim club this summer over charges of racism? Well, the kids have prevailed!
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This week, The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission said it did in fact find probable cause that racism was involved, after the suburban Valley Swim Club revoked swimming privileges for the approximately 65 children of the Creative Steps Day Care Center following their one visit on June 29th. Although the day care students were granted a summer long contract to utilize the swimming facilities (and paid for the privilege in advance), things turned sour quickly when a bus load of primarily minority children showed up to the ritzy swim club. According to an observer, one of the club’s members voiced concerns that “all of these black kids” might “do something to my child.” When confronted by a Creative Steps official, the woman, who is a teacher at a local school, denied making the comment but said she was concerned because one of the children “was a known thief” and had previously stolen a cell phone. The commission found no evidence that the child was ever accused of or disciplined for stealing at the school.
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The swim club has continuously maintained that it canceled the contract of the day care center after members requested their membership fees be refunded over safety concerns of “overcrowding of the shallow end of the pool by a large number of non-swimmers.” But according to the commission, the club “routinely has members at the facility in numbers that are equal in size or exceed the number of Creative Steps campers,” and has routinely hosted groups of similar size without raising safety concerns. The Valley Swim Club will now appear before a public hearing and could face damages for humiliation and embarrassment, as well as a civil penalty of up to $50,000. After the children were ejected from the club, film maker Tyler Perry got wind of the story and treated them all to a trip to DisneyWorld. He also offered his own pool for them to swim in whenever they wanted.
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The swim club has continuously maintained that it canceled the contract of the day care center after members requested their membership fees be refunded over safety concerns of “overcrowding of the shallow end of the pool by a large number of non-swimmers.” But according to the commission, the club “routinely has members at the facility in numbers that are equal in size or exceed the number of Creative Steps campers,” and has routinely hosted groups of similar size without raising safety concerns. The Valley Swim Club will now appear before a public hearing and could face damages for humiliation and embarrassment, as well as a civil penalty of up to $50,000. After the children were ejected from the club, film maker Tyler Perry got wind of the story and treated them all to a trip to DisneyWorld. He also offered his own pool for them to swim in whenever they wanted.
I remember those kids. Good for them!!!!