Meanwhile, Back in Philly, A Lawsuit Would Bankrupt the Valley Swim Club, and Tyler Perry Will Treat Day Campers to Disney World

What did I say earlier? That the black and Latino kids could end up owning the joint? At the very least, the Valley Swim Club could be out of business. From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Racial-discrimination lawsuits against a private Montgomery County swimming club over its revoked contract with a Philadelphia day camp could cost enough to threaten the Valley Club’s existence.

Attorneys, club members, and tax records indicated that a pair of federal-court lawsuits – one filed, one promised – could cost the club more money than it has and possibly leave board members liable for civil-rights verdicts.

“The only asset we have is the land, which housing developers have been trying to buy for years,” said Bonnie Bacich, a Valley Club member for 30 years.

The club has been targeted for how it treated 65 children who traveled with the Creative Steps Inc. day camp to the Huntingdon Valley club June 29. The children said they heard racial comments by club members who left the pool when they arrived. The club later refunded money paid by Creative Steps and revoked its summer swimming contract.

The club also ended contracts with two other day camps, but neither has protested the matter. The Valley Club says all the contracts were ended because of safety issues from overcrowding, not racial prejudice.

One lawsuit was filed Friday by a parent, and Creative Steps executive director Alethea Wright and dozens of other parents said at a news conference Monday that a second discrimination suit was coming.

“The outrage of having to go through this, with an African American president in 2009 – we don’t take this kind of stuff lightly in America anymore,” said Montgomery County civil-rights lawyer Brian Wiley, who is not involved in the case lawsuit.

They cannot even get a lawyer.

Somebody, it’s time to cry uncle.

At the same time, the Associated Press reports that Tyler “Madea” Perry is treating the Creative Steps kids to Disney World.

Tyler Perry is paying for 65 children from a Philadelphia day camp to go to Walt Disney World after reading about allegations that a suburban swim club had shunned them because of racism.

The black and Hispanic children who attend the day camp run by Creative Steps Inc. cheered Monday when they learned about the actor’s gift.

Creative Steps director Alethea Wright says she’s thrilled about the offer, especially because Perry “comes from humble beginnings” like the children in her camp.

And they’re not going to act like Bebe’s kids, either. This is what Perry wrote in his Messages section at Tyler Perry.com:

I’m So Mad

This made me so angry.

Since Michael Jackson died I have not watched the news. I have just been so disgusted at how the mainstream media has riddled this family with disrespect, and no matter what anyone, you or I included, might have thought of him, the truth of the matter is this – the man was still a human being and his kids and family deserve some privacy and space. And I know that I’m not the only one that feels this way, so I purposely kept the TV off. Anyway, I was walking through the house, and I don’t know how this TV was on, but I saw a little boy on the news crying his eyes out. So I turned it up. Here is this kid talking about being kicked out of the Valley Swim Club outside Philadelphia because he was black. Did you hear me? I said, “No way, this can’t be! It’s 2009. I don’t believe this!” But, I know it happens even in this year of Obama.

As I listened to the story the anchorperson went on to talk about a woman named Althea Wright. This young lady started a non-profit called Creative Steps to help inner-city children. And apparently she had booked the Valley Swim Club’s pool and paid for it to be used by the children through the summer. As we all know, this is such a great thing. During the summer our kids can get into a lot of trouble if they don’t have something creative to do. Anyway, as the story went on I was shocked to find out that it wasn’t just him but 65 children in all, black and Hispanic kids, that were kicked out of the pool. You should Google this story and read it online for yourself. It’s crazy! I went from being mad to being furious.

The news reporter went on to say that the president of the club and its members said, and I quote, “We don’t want to change the complexion of our club.” The president refunded the money of the children and asked them not to come back. WHAT?! I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I said I have to do something for these children. I can’t let them think that they are inferior because of the color of their skin. Then that night I saw the president of the Valley Swim Club on the news again saying that he misspoke and that it was a safety issue and the club wasn’t able to accommodate so many children. But the children themselves reportedly said that members were taking their kids out of the pool, and that they were saying things like, “Why are they here?” and “They’re black”, even insinuating that these kids would steal or maybe hurt their children.
Now get this. A few days later I catch the story again on CNN. This time the club was inviting the kids to come and swim. WHAT?! I’m confused. If you refunded the money because there was not enough room in the pool and it was a safety issue then why are you asking the same 65 kids to come back?

This is awful, and for anyone that has grown up in the inner-city, you know that one small act of kindness can change your life. These kids see the images of President Obama on TV and then they see the drug dealers and thugs on the corner. Which do you think is more their reality? One act of kindness, one person telling them that they are special, one moment of encouragement can make them move mountains. I know it to be true because I was one of them. They don’t need to be called names and be told that they are less than, because of the color of their skin or because of where they come from.

I was told that one of these children, a seven year old, asked her mother if she was “to black to be in a pool.” How do you answer that? How do you get a seven year old past that? Again, it broke my heart and I wanted to do something, and I feel like you all would want to do something, too. That’s why I’m telling you this. Since you all have put me in the position to be able to do something I feel like by me doing this we are all doing it together. So what I did was on Aug 1st thru 3rd I’m sending these kids to Disney World, and then to a Disney water park. I want them to know that for every act of evil that a few people will throw at you, there are millions more who will do something kind for them. This is all about the kids. So, thank you for letting me do this. Thank you so much. And do me a favor please. When you see these kids coming through the airport, (I’m sure you won’t be able to miss them. I imagine they are going to be super excited) when you see them in the park and in the hotel, let’s show them a whole lot of love and respect. Show them that they are just as good as anyone else. And show them that they can do or be anything they want to be no matter what any one says!

Thanks,

Tyler Perry