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The controversy surrounding The Valley Club in Huntingdon Valley, Pa., rejecting a group of students from the Creative Steps Day Camp who tried to use its facilities has once again proven how far we are from any “post-racial” social ideal. The predominantly black and Hispanic children reportedly heard club patrons ask, “What are these black children doing here,” and lamenting that the children would “steal from us.” The Club returned Creative Steps’ check and asked them to leave. When asked for an explanation, the club manager said that the children’s presence changed the “atmosphere” and “complexion” of the club. After the ensuing media firestorm, the club had a very suspicious change of heart and asked the day care to come back. Althea Wright, the supervisor of the day care, said that they were not interested in returning.
Many of the young children involved in this ugly incident were elementary schoolers; and for a lot of them, this was their first glimpse at an all-too-common reality in the U.S. For many, there often comes a time in your life when you experience your first stings of racism, prejudice and bigotry. Rollingout.com wants to know — whether you’re black, white, Hispanic or Asian — do you remember your first brush with prejudice? –todd williams
Dominick Brady
Writer-blogger
“My first brush with racism was within my first week here in Georgia [was] as a pre-teen. We moved to the north metro Atlanta area around the early ‘90s and I found myself ill-prepared for the culture shock of living in the midst of a palpable, seemingly understood racial asymmetry. I was routinely called ‘n—-r,’ forced to stay outside of white ‘friends’ ’ houses and made fun of for my ethnic features. After leaving a community where black being beautiful was a given, I wasn’t sure what to make of this new place.”
N. Ali Early
Kreative Souls Media Network, LLC
“In Denver… I was walking to my father’s house from work when these white boys pulled up to the sidewalk and tossed an egg in my direction. They missed, but continued to harass me. I was only 14 years old and they looked to be in their early 20s, if not older. I picked up my stride thinking they were done only to find out they’d circled the block so they could hurl racial slurs towards me …”
Dream Hampton
Writer
(Via Twitter) “1st memory of being called ‘n—-r’/told 2 ‘go home’ was @ the pool at Metro Beach, 20 miles outside of Detrot [sic]. Old Lady too…”
Can you share your first experience with bigotry?
