The PG Pool is racist [MD]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean, for the 2 adults and 2 kids, the membership fee is $650/year. Given the strong correlation in the DC area of race with income, is that fee something that Black community members can afford?

This isn't some luxury pool, btw. It looks like it barely scrapes by.

Well it's a chicken and egg thing isn't it.

If people like you think Black people can't afford the pool, they won't accept Black people as members.

Also, it's not cheap for most families, even those that can afford it. If you were Black, would it be a priority to pay for a pool with such recent racist history?

The membership is completely self selected. No one is deciding to admit or not admit Black people on the basis of their skin color, income, or any other perception. Because the wait list is in the exact order of people who have signed up for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When will the Prince's George's Pool in Mount Rainier open it's doors to the community? See here: https://pgpool.org

In Mount Rainier, there's a large private, members-only pool that few people in Mount Rainier can actually join. The wait list is like 10 years long! It's called the PG Pool. Most of the members seem to be white and they come from DC/MoCo.

How could this be? The official line from this racist pool has been that membership dropped during the 1980s and 1990s and they had to open it up to people from outside the community (read: non-POCs from NE DC and MoCo). This is a BS racist line, imho.

The real reason: This pool was "whites-only" until 1975. That's not a typo... 1975. Shocker alert: running a segregated pool in a majority-Black county isn't a great way to increase your membership roles. So this weird pool looked elsewhere for members - mostly white people from outside the area.

I wish there was more news coverage on how these racist private pools in MD still operate and essentially segregate themselves from the broader community. End rant.

Your humble opinion would be wrong. We joined the PG pool in around 2010 (and left, because we moved, around 2014), and there was no wait list. None. We just signed up. The popularity increased after that, and the wait list began.

But, I am puzzled about your reasoning. The pool is racist because it has a wait list? Or doesn't limit its membership to people who live nearby?

Maybe because the pool was segregated for a long time and is now filled with white people who don’t live in the city. See: https://www.teamunify.com/Home.jsp?_tabid_=0&team=recpmslpgpkw

Love seeing all these progressives tryin to talk around their racist pool policies when it benefits them. PG County ain’t your colony.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean, for the 2 adults and 2 kids, the membership fee is $650/year. Given the strong correlation in the DC area of race with income, is that fee something that Black community members can afford?

This isn't some luxury pool, btw. It looks like it barely scrapes by.

Well it's a chicken and egg thing isn't it.

If people like you think Black people can't afford the pool, they won't accept Black people as members.

Also, it's not cheap for most families, even those that can afford it. If you were Black, would it be a priority to pay for a pool with such recent racist history?

Probably not when they can go to the free DC pools instead. Pools need money to function- so you either have public pools subsidized by the local jurisdictions or you have private pools where the costs are covered entirely by its members. It would be great if the PG government would build more pools so there were more accessible and affordable options available for its residents.

And the other PP is right that the long waitlist is a somewhat recent development. By the way some people talk you’d think the pool was entirely comprised of legacy members and black residents have had no opportunity to join.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://streetcarsuburbs.news/making-a-splash-prince-georges-pool/

?? That article is supposed to prove what? it doesn't support your (OP?) claim at all. Come on OP.

https://pgpool.org/about/the-raymond-bowlding-pavilion/

You are going to have to find an article that proves your claim. WPo link is same link as above. the second link says nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://streetcarsuburbs.news/making-a-splash-prince-georges-pool/

?? That article is supposed to prove what? it doesn't support your (OP?) claim at all. Come on OP.

https://pgpool.org/about/the-raymond-bowlding-pavilion/

OP, are you in favor of the efforts the PG Pool has made, evidenced by the link just posted, to come to terms with, publicly, its racist, segregationist past? What actions would you like for the pool to take now.

Is your goal to get it closed down? To shame the PG Pool on the basis of their own web site which is clearly not trying to hide this history?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://streetcarsuburbs.news/making-a-splash-prince-georges-pool/

?? That article is supposed to prove what? it doesn't support your (OP?) claim at all. Come on OP.

https://pgpool.org/about/the-raymond-bowlding-pavilion/

You are going to have to find an article that proves your claim. WPo link is same link as above. the second link says nothing.

From this racist pool's own website: Working with the NAACP, he filed complaints with the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department and the Maryland Commission on Human Rights. As a result of those complaints, the members voted to change the pool’s bylaws and remove the implicit color bar to membership in 1975.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are two DC public pools that people in Mr Rainier can go to: Hagans and Langdon. The real problem is that PG County hasn’t built enough pools.

What PG County chooses to do or not do has zero bearing on why this specific pool has continued to exclude Black people, even the very people that live in the apartments across the street.

Anyone can sign up to be on the waiting list. That’s not exclusion or racism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When will the Prince's George's Pool in Mount Rainier open it's doors to the community? See here: https://pgpool.org

In Mount Rainier, there's a large private, members-only pool that few people in Mount Rainier can actually join. The wait list is like 10 years long! It's called the PG Pool. Most of the members seem to be white and they come from DC/MoCo.

How could this be? The official line from this racist pool has been that membership dropped during the 1980s and 1990s and they had to open it up to people from outside the community (read: non-POCs from NE DC and MoCo). This is a BS racist line, imho.

The real reason: This pool was "whites-only" until 1975. That's not a typo... 1975. Shocker alert: running a segregated pool in a majority-Black county isn't a great way to increase your membership roles. So this weird pool looked elsewhere for members - mostly white people from outside the area.

I wish there was more news coverage on how these racist private pools in MD still operate and essentially segregate themselves from the broader community. End rant.

Your humble opinion would be wrong. We joined the PG pool in around 2010 (and left, because we moved, around 2014), and there was no wait list. None. We just signed up. The popularity increased after that, and the wait list began.

But, I am puzzled about your reasoning. The pool is racist because it has a wait list? Or doesn't limit its membership to people who live nearby?

Maybe because the pool was segregated for a long time and is now filled with white people who don’t live in the city. See: https://www.teamunify.com/Home.jsp?_tabid_=0&team=recpmslpgpkw

Love seeing all these progressives tryin to talk around their racist pool policies when it benefits them. PG County ain’t your colony.

Where do they live? PG county where the pool is located? I cannot see people traipsing across the city from Virginia to go to a pool in Mt Rainier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://streetcarsuburbs.news/making-a-splash-prince-georges-pool/

?? That article is supposed to prove what? it doesn't support your (OP?) claim at all. Come on OP.

https://pgpool.org/about/the-raymond-bowlding-pavilion/

OP, are you in favor of the efforts the PG Pool has made, evidenced by the link just posted, to come to terms with, publicly, its racist, segregationist past? What actions would you like for the pool to take now.

Is your goal to get it closed down? To shame the PG Pool on the basis of their own web site which is clearly not trying to hide this history?

I would like to see this pool weight the current waitlist for this pool based on zip code + adding more community days for the pool.

-MtR Resident

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are two DC public pools that people in Mr Rainier can go to: Hagans and Langdon. The real problem is that PG County hasn’t built enough pools.

What PG County chooses to do or not do has zero bearing on why this specific pool has continued to exclude Black people, even the very people that live in the apartments across the street.

But it hasn't excluded anyone on a discriminatory or racist basis. That's just a lie you're telling.

By capping membership, the pool favors white incumbents and resists integration, locking in and pulling the past racist and exclusionary policies into the present. Good to know that you enjoy racial segregation, because that’s what you are defending.

This! I wonder how many people insisting that the current membership at the pool has nothing to do with discrimination have 1) any familiarity with local history and 2) any familiarity with actual Black people who have familiarity with local history.

I think its incumbent on you to explain how a racist policy that ended FOURTY PLUS years ago - replaced with an open-access policy - is racist?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are two DC public pools that people in Mr Rainier can go to: Hagans and Langdon. The real problem is that PG County hasn’t built enough pools.

What PG County chooses to do or not do has zero bearing on why this specific pool has continued to exclude Black people, even the very people that live in the apartments across the street.

Anyone can sign up to be on the waiting list. That’s not exclusion or racism.

So, long lines to vote in Black neighbors isn't exclusionary or racist either?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I mean, for the 2 adults and 2 kids, the membership fee is $650/year. Given the strong correlation in the DC area of race with income, is that fee something that Black community members can afford?

This isn't some luxury pool, btw. It looks like it barely scrapes by.

It’s a private pool with maintenance costs. Should black people all get free memberships at VIDA too?

Come on. The entity that provides affordable amenities for the public is the *county.* Take your advocacy energy there. Many DC public pools were built on the strength of community campaigns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When will the Prince's George's Pool in Mount Rainier open it's doors to the community? See here: https://pgpool.org

In Mount Rainier, there's a large private, members-only pool that few people in Mount Rainier can actually join. The wait list is like 10 years long! It's called the PG Pool. Most of the members seem to be white and they come from DC/MoCo.

How could this be? The official line from this racist pool has been that membership dropped during the 1980s and 1990s and they had to open it up to people from outside the community (read: non-POCs from NE DC and MoCo). This is a BS racist line, imho.

The real reason: This pool was "whites-only" until 1975. That's not a typo... 1975. Shocker alert: running a segregated pool in a majority-Black county isn't a great way to increase your membership roles. So this weird pool looked elsewhere for members - mostly white people from outside the area.

I wish there was more news coverage on how these racist private pools in MD still operate and essentially segregate themselves from the broader community. End rant.

Your humble opinion would be wrong. We joined the PG pool in around 2010 (and left, because we moved, around 2014), and there was no wait list. None. We just signed up. The popularity increased after that, and the wait list began.

But, I am puzzled about your reasoning. The pool is racist because it has a wait list? Or doesn't limit its membership to people who live nearby?

Maybe because the pool was segregated for a long time and is now filled with white people who don’t live in the city. See: https://www.teamunify.com/Home.jsp?_tabid_=0&team=recpmslpgpkw

Love seeing all these progressives tryin to talk around their racist pool policies when it benefits them. PG County ain’t your colony.

Oh ffs. A private pool is not your property. You know what PG County residents DO have a geographical claim to? COUNTY facilities. Take your complaints to the PG County Parks Dept.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are two DC public pools that people in Mr Rainier can go to: Hagans and Langdon. The real problem is that PG County hasn’t built enough pools.

What PG County chooses to do or not do has zero bearing on why this specific pool has continued to exclude Black people, even the very people that live in the apartments across the street.

Anyone can sign up to be on the waiting list. That’s not exclusion or racism.

So, long lines to vote in Black neighbors isn't exclusionary or racist either?

What you’re arguing for is more PUBLIC pools. Are long lines outside exclusive clubs racist, when anyone can get in line and be admitted?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://streetcarsuburbs.news/making-a-splash-prince-georges-pool/

?? That article is supposed to prove what? it doesn't support your (OP?) claim at all. Come on OP.

https://pgpool.org/about/the-raymond-bowlding-pavilion/

OP, are you in favor of the efforts the PG Pool has made, evidenced by the link just posted, to come to terms with, publicly, its racist, segregationist past? What actions would you like for the pool to take now.

Is your goal to get it closed down? To shame the PG Pool on the basis of their own web site which is clearly not trying to hide this history?

I would like to see this pool weight the current waitlist for this pool based on zip code + adding more community days for the pool.

-MtR Resident

Sure that sounds OK. But quit it with the false accusations of racism.