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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I do see the legacy of racism all around me in NoVA.  The private pool thing is sad to consider, given how much we love our local pool club.  Interestingly our pool is one of the few in the area that doesn’t have a geographical limitation on who can join … so maybe the founders were a little more progressive, or maybe one of the successor boards was.  Back in the 50’s, neighborhoods were way more segregated due to redlining etc.    It is just a fact that public pools closed after segregation, and people created private clubs to keep others out.  It’s not allowed now but there’s definitely a legacy to overcome and institutional norms need review to make sure they aren’t perpetuating old biases, like pool bylaws and swim league policies.  It seems like these are insignificant things, but they can have big impacts in your very local community. These are the best kinds of things to care about in my opinion.

All of the people saying, oh, well I grew up in a 100% white area and had no public pools are proving the point. [/quote]

Why should I pay for other people’s pools? Why should yet another thing that has no relevance to me or anyone I know be paid for by me?[/quote]

Did anyone say you should?

The article simply gives an explanation about why people stopped wanting to pay for them when they used to have no problem with it.  After desegregation, white people moved out of DC into NoVA, and built neighborhoods and pool clubs that excluded black people. It’s interesting history and something to consider if you belong to a pool built around that time. If the county had invested in public pools they would have had to be integrated, and the white people here at the time were NOT on board with that.  So we have what we have.  Worth looking at any policies your HOA, pool or swim programs might have that seem to create any barriers for people of color in any event. They could be leftovers from that time.

I realize this is way too thoughtful and reflective for most people here though who prefer to bury their heads in the sand on these issues.[/quote]

Except it isn't very thoughtful. You are framing these decisions through an extremely narrow lens.[/quote]

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