Summers often bring a wave of childhood memories, but for many African Americans, these memories are tainted by the legacy of segregated swimming pools and amusement parks. As a social historian, Victoria W. Wolcott has written a book on segregated recreation, highlighting the lasting impact of this segregation on modern race relations.

Segregation in Public Spaces

Municipal swimming pools and urban amusement parks flourished in the 20th century, but their success was often based on the exclusion of African Americans. White stereotypes of blacks as diseased and sexually threatening served as the foundation for this segregation. City leaders justified segregation, citing fears of fights breaking out if whites and blacks mingled.

These fears were underscored by violent incidents, such as whites throwing nails at the bottom of pools in Cincinnati, pouring bleach and acid in pools with black bathers in St. Augustine, Florida, and beating them up in Philadelphia. Major civil rights campaigns targeted amusement park segregation, most notably at Gwynn Oak Park in Baltimore and Glen Echo Park outside of Washington, D.C.

Lasting Legacy

The history of recreational segregation has had a lasting impact on modern race relations. After the 1964 Civil Rights Act desegregated public accommodations, municipalities followed different strategies to maintain segregation. Some filled their pools in, leaving more affluent residents the option of putting in backyard pools. Public pools also created membership clubs and began to charge fees, which acted as a barrier to filter out those pool managers felt were “unfit.”

Today, the legacy of segregated recreation can still be seen in the lack of access to public pools and other recreational facilities in many urban areas. The racial stereotypes that justified swimming segregation are not often openly expressed, but their impact can still be felt.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.