- The video has gone viral, the officer who drew his gun has been placed on administrative leave, and details about exactly what happened Friday afternoon are still coming out. But as others have noted, this story brings up a decades-old American drama around race and swimming pools, featuring racial gatekeepers who opted to privatize public spaces rather than integrate them. It's worth revisiting that history as we try to make sense of McKinney.
Thanks for posting the NPR article. I wasn't as aware of the battle of the pools as I was of desegregating the schools. I hope people realize that any liberation, any social justice, any fairness in our societies have generally been fought for, not freely given: voting rights, public education, five-day work week, banning of child labour, workplace safety laws, women's right to own property and so on.
This reminds me a little of Philly a few years ago. http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Pool-Boots-Kids-Who-Might-Change-the-Complexion.html I really don't get it... and this all makes me super sad.
this all makes me super sad.
-Yes. It makes me angry too.
How many people have public pools in their community? I never had one that I knew of until I moved to Portland. Now I have one in easy walking distance and 3 in easy bike range. It's pretty amazing. No one checks your ID to see if you are a resident, everyone gets to swim. Low income kids can get scholarships to swim classes and class fees are pretty affordable to begin with. It costs 2.50 to swim but there are several free to swim days through the week. Most the pools are out door so It's not year round but there are a number of indoor pools in the system. Lot of other public goods in this town. During summer they give out free lunches to kids in the park, no ID or qualification needed, if you are a kid you can get a well balanced meal for free. Parents come to save a few bucks or get a meal they otherwise couldn't afford and the kids get a meal and some exercise, I think it's great.