A group of protesters gathers in front of the club on Thursday.A suburban Philadelphia swim club has invited children from a largely minority day-care center to come back after a June reversal that fueled allegations of racism against the club. After the “alleged” racial comments incident turned into a national story and protesters started picketing at the swim club, a hasty Sunday afternoon meeting of the Valley Club in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania was called. And club members voted overwhelmingly to try to work things out with the day-care center. The day-care center, which had contracted to use the pool, after budget cuts forced some pools in the Philadelphia area to close, has accused some swim club members of making racist comments to Black and Brown children.
This quick change of heart is more likely the result of the club having been subpoenaed by the state Human Rights Commission, which launched a fact-finding investigation last week after allegations of racism at the Valley Club. The club director’s wife said the club canceled its contract with the Creative Steps day-care because of safety, crowding and noise concerns, not racism. (Why is the director’s wife speaking for the club? – maybe because he can’t get his foot out of his mouth. He said that having the day-care center children would change the complexion [definition: skin tone; facial appearance, nature; character] of the club). She also said, "and the legal advice was to try to get together with these camps.”
Alethea Wright, Creative Steps’ director has repeatedly criticized the club for its tepid response to the charges and said the children in her care were "emotionally damaged" by the incident. "These children are scarred. How can I take those children back there?" she said. However, the day-care center’s lawyer said the center will give the Valley Club's offer "due consideration" once it is received and looks forward to sitting down with the parties. “"The children are our primary concern.” (Lawyer speak for as soon as you pay the damages we will back off.)
Swimming privileges for about 65 children from Creative Steps were revoked after their first visit June 29. Some children said White members of the club made racist comments to the children, asking why "black children were there" and raising concerns that "they might steal from us." A few days later, the day-care center's $1,950 check was returned.
The club director told reporters that he had underestimated the amount of children who would participate, and the club was unable to supervise that many kids. Ms. Wright has rejected the camp's contention that the swim club's pool was overcrowded. The club had accepted a 10-to-1 ratio of children to adults and was considering adding up to three lifeguards, according to e-mails obtained by CNN. And Wright said she still has concerns about the issue. "Are the members who made those comments still there?" she asked
No comments:
Post a Comment