Justice Department Files Suit Against Philly Swim Club
The lawsuit was filed after African-American children from a camp visited.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 14, 2010— -- The Justice Department has filed a civil rights lawsuit against a suburban Philadelphia country club that allegedly changed its rules to bar black children from using its facilities.
The suit filed by the Justice Department alleges that the Valley Club of Huntingdon Valley "engaged in a pattern or practice of racial discrimination" after a group of predominantly African-American children from a summer camp called "Creative Steps" visited the country club.
The following day the country club changed its policy about summer camps using the facilities.
According to the lawsuit filed by the Justice Department, "On Monday, June 29, 2009, Creative Steps visited the Valley Club for the first time with approximately fifty-six (56) children. During and after this visit, some Valley Club members made statements and complaints to the President of the Valley Club and to its Board of Directors based on race in opposition to Creative Steps' use of Valley Club."
According to the court documents the camp had paid $1,900 for the kids to use the swim club one day a week under their contract.
"On June 30, 2009, one day following Creative Steps' visit to the Valley Club, the President and the Board of Directors of the Valley Club adopted a policy to bar all summer camps from using its facility," the suit said. "They adopted this policy in response to racially-motivated opposition from Valley Club members to Creative Steps.
"The Valley Club adopted its policy with the intention of preventing the children of Creative Steps from returning to the Valley Club. On June 30 and July 1, 2009, the Valley Club informed Creative Steps that it could not return to the Valley Club and refunded its money," according to the Justice Department's suit.
