You remember this case. Here’s the latest — the pending lawsuits against the racist Valley Swim Club could shut them down for good. From the Philly 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.

Color of Change tells us that over 60,000 people responded to their first call for justice for the young black children turned away from the Valley Swim Club in suburban Philadelphia due to the complexion of their skin. The reason is because these types of incidents happen to black folk all across the nation and here was a terrible example around which we could all join for justice.

Despite the election of the nation’s first president, we don’t live in a post-racial America just yet. People must be held accountable for racist actions that our goal of One Nation Indivisible with Liberty and Justice for All. You know, all that shizz.

Color of Change has an update on this case and how you and I can continue to help fight for these kids and kids around the nation.

Now is the time for justice. It’s why we’re not only publicly condemning the club but calling on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate whether the club committed a Civil Rights Act violation.

It’s a critical step–A DOJ investigation can help create accountability, not just in Pennsylvania, but across the country. The more of us that speak up, the stronger our voice, and the higher the likelihood the DOJ will act. We’re hoping to get to 75,000 signatures this week.

Can you help us get there? It takes less than minute–just click the link below to start. And then please invite your friends and family to do the same.

http://www.colorofchange.org/swim/?id=1489-129670

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