I read about this earlier today and after the initial outrage wore off, all I felt was a deep sadness for the kids involved. Many, if not all black boys and girls encounter racism for the first real, tangible time outside of their homes. Maybe a kid at school calls you a nigger, or you get followed around/kicked out of a corner store by a racist shopkeeper, or the parents of one of your non-black friend won’t let you sleep over. But to be denied entrance from an entire pool for fear that you’ll “change the complaxion”? That’s traumatizing. 

It’s a moment those kids will never forget. It’s the moment when you realize that the world is a lot bigger than yourself, that some people are going to think they know your story before they even meet you. It’s the moment that, if not followed up with the appropriate “talk” from parents, can lead kids to harbor feelings of inferiority, resignation and distrust. I hope the parents of these Philly kids found the right words to say by the time their children came home that evening.

Tags: Discrimination, Philadelphia, Pool, Racism