Algonquin pool closing points to racism, Pickleball is everywhere

Apr 06, 2023

As a kid I had an asthma attack while at a pool and since then I’m very tepid around water. I remember being told Black people didn't swim because physiologically we were different and wouldn't float. That narrative, unsurprisingly, was a remnant of Jim Crow that was supported by skewed "studies" on buoyancy and muscle mass. "No need to allow them in our pools, they might drown." So concerned about our safety, they wanted to keep us away.

Access to pools, however, is a large component of why we really don't swim at as high of a rate. Growing up, I had one friend with a pool, he was white. In poorer and redlined neighborhoods you don't see pools. Lack of exposure makes us less comfortable with water as we really should be. To me, swimming was for white people with money. The strange part is I did go to a pool every Friday in the summer as a kid. The YMCA free lunch program, (Which was predominantly Black at the time) took us to the city pool on Fridays in an old school bus painted white with tinted windows. We’d marvel as the white people saw what they called the ‘jail bus’ pull up and would leave the pool for other options in town.

Once there, we didn't really swim, we didn't know how. Instead, we splashed around in a crowded shallow end with the brave or privileged few passing the requisite swim test to cross the rope into the deep end.

Fridays confirmed my expectation that Black people just don't swim. But that's not true. Many of us WANT to swim or learn, the options just aren't as prevalent.

I know some people don't like it and say I bring race into everything. Their discontent resulting in angry letters and attacks on my character. Some people don't like hearing about what is really going on and would rather pretend we don't live in a society where race has had so much of an impact on almost everything we do. But that's not reality, and we should continue to point out inequity in all of its forms so that we someday get to a better place.

More:'They don't want to see the Blacks in the pools': Councilwoman rips Algonquin pool closure

Racism and its vestiges have persisted and while it may seem a stretch to some, intentionally or not that is what happened with the pool at Algonquin. Now, I know the mayor or his team didn't sit down and say, let's keep the pool in the west end from opening. I know the mayor and many on his staff and that is not their mindset at all.

It goes deeper, and that's part of the larger issue. The pool is in need of repair, but what's contentious is how it got there and why repair hasn't happened yet.

Oftentimes things for ‘us’ are ignored or not made a priority. Some may feel the timing for repair isn't ideal and was done without thinking about the negative and disparate impact it may have on a particular community. When was the need for repair identified? Why didn't someone act sooner? And the big question that for many of us presupposes an answer, would they have done this at say…Crescent Hill?

The answer to that question is immaterial at this point because for many, no matter the answer it will not be believed. Taking away the only pool option in what would be one of the largest cities in Kentucky if it were on its own is bizarre when you look at it that way. Almost as bizarre as an area or city that large not having access to fresh food and groceries…wait a minute.

Things like this are preventable errors that can damage a budding relationship with city leaders . Some equity conscious organizations run reports prior to decision making to see who, if anyone, their actions could negatively impact. We should do this for more decisions in the everyday world.

More:Black children are drowning. Race and poverty should not be barriers to swim lessons.

Exacerbating this perceived slight is the lack of investment in other areas. It isn't just about the pool, it's where we are putting our time and resources. The same day I saw the news about Algonquin pool, I saw yet another announcement for more pickleball courts. It seems you can't go anywhere east of 9th street and avoid pickleball courts popping up, a sport studies say are played by white people at a little over 93%. Some of my favorite basketball courts are now converted to pickleball.

We need to make sure all communities have fun and safe ways to enjoy summer. It's difficult to see investments come in some areas of the city while watching others fall into disrepair closing them for the very season they exist. And to be clear, in summer we want to have pools and to swim.

Pre asthma attack those Fridays in the shallow end were fun and formative. I really hope the families in Louisville's West End get to soon take a dive in the deep end.

Terrance Sullivan is the former Executive Director of the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights (KCHR). KCHR is the state agency charged with enforcing the Kentucky Civil Rights Act. Terrance is also a member of The Courier Journal's Advisory Board.