http://www.colorofchange.org/swim/?id=2181-221043
Sixty-five children from a largely Black summer camp in Philadelphia were turned away from a swimming club in the suburbs because of their race. The camp had a contract to use the Valley Club's pool for the summer. Once the club realized the kids were Black, it canceled their membership. A "Whites only" pool in 2009 should not be tolerated. Please join us in publicly condemning the Valley Club's discrimination, and calling on the Justice Department to investigate whether the club violated federal civil rights laws.
There is an excellent commentary about this pool incident that was recently feature at Huffington Post, called "Same Old Philly" writing about the undeniable overt racism that persists in Philadelphia. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-d-ellison/same-old-philly_b_229530... Charles D. Ellison writes that:
The real problem with the recent Valley Club swimming pool incident is that, if you're from Philadelphia, it comes as no surprise. We might wear that Ill Town badge with gritty pride, but we know what the deal is and has always been.
Then, in his concluding paragraph, he cites the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal:
Despite the fact nearly half the town is Black, elected its 3rd Black mayor and African Americans have a significant cultural, economic and political presence in the town, the racial tension is real thick. Which is one of the reasons Philly White folks have kept Mumia Abu Jamal on death row for so long, but always come short of executing him. It's the fear of a bottled rage being unleashed. So, don't act so surprised, family. Don't get so emotional. It's Philly.
After personally living in Philadelphia and personally working with the movement supporting Mumia, I can say that the overt racism that surfaces among the crowd wanting Mumia dead, is well..... almost unbelievable.
Here are two key articles that I have written about this, including this photo-essay documenting the Neo-Nazis that came out: http://phillyimc.org/en/node/66592
This is a report from a demonstration where a biker-gang, apparently consisting of many retired or off-duty cops, because many of them were wearing patches that simulated Philadelphia PD badges:
http://insubordination.blogspot.com/2007/04/mumia-abu-jamal-rally-on-apr...
This event came after several weeks of intimidation from police. This is an article written by Linn Washington:
http://abu-jamal-news.com/article.php?name=Imus+Washington
The anti-Abu-Jamal barrage of emails and telephone calls unleashed on the Clef Club included declarations perilously close to terroristic threats. Some of the emails, including from persons identifying themselves as Philadelphia police officers, threatened a withdrawal of police services from the Clef Club. "Any self respecting police officer in Philadelphia should refuse to answer any calls for service at your establishment," one policeman reportedly stated in an email. "Since you insist on supporting this piece of trash, I highly recommend that in the future if you find yourself a victim of crime that you DO NOT call 911 for help. Call mumia or MOVE....if you cannot support us why then should we support you?"
And, this is my article here, detailing the intimidation: http://panafricannews.blogspot.com/2007/05/mumia-abu-jamal-appeals-heari...
"I received nothing less than 10 or 15 death threats over the last four weeks from so-called Philadelphia police officers. I assured them that I would show up today, so they would have an opportunity to kill me. They've intimidated and scared folks. They've done what the Ku Klux Klan has always done in America: terrified Black people, poor people, immigrants and good white people" into stepping down and not confronting racism," declared Sgt. DeLacy Davis, of Black Cops Against Police Brutality.
and, in NYC:
Earlier that month, an April 15 hip hop concert and fundraiser for Mumia organized by youth in New York City was also forced to relocate when police intimidated the owner of the Remote Lounge. The Amsterdam News, the venerable Black Harlem-based paper, reported that "after receiving 16 citations, thousands of dollars in fines and allegedly malicious threats, the night club owner canceled the concert, two days before the scheduled event."....... After the event was forced to relocate, an April 15 thread on the "RANT" site was titled "NY Mumia Hip Hop Benefit Rally Gets b*tch Slapped." One post under the name "Philadelphia Police Highway Patrol" said: "A sincere thank you to all of my NYPD brothers and sisters. You men and women are truly the best!" Several other posts continued to boast of their actions with comments like "good job guys , f--k you mumia you dirty savage," "I'm shocked, amazed, and feel a warm glow! Great work. Outstanding!!!," "16 citations - and guess what the hits are gonna keep coming you f--k wad," "Does anyone sell Mumia targets, so I can keep his cause alive in spirit?"
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This photo-essay documenting the Neo-Nazis that came out on April 19, 2008:
Keith Carney (on left in blue shirt) with other racists, including Jay Tankersly (middle) of the Maryland Skinheads
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