Yesterday, #NoCopAcademy brought a group of almost 30 young Black and Brown people to Carter…read moreSwimming pool, a public pool outside of Knoxville, Tennessee. We paid money for our entrance and were immediately greeted with blatant disrespect, dehumanization, and racism. Many of the white folks started getting out of the pool when we got in. One child wanted to have fun with us, and his guardian quickly gathered him in fake concern for our folks, saying "I hope he isn't bothering you" when we were all clearly welcoming him. When a white woman started to swim with us, the lifeguard told her to stop. The pool staff continuously came over to us and gave us rules that they were not enforcing on the white swimmers. They began with telling us we could not swim in the deep end, and yet when white folks got in the deep end they said nothing. They then continued to criminalize our activities by telling us we couldn't splash each other, or horse around. A staff member higher up kept monitoring us coming back and forth and even set up a chair to sit. They would only engage with the white adult present, refusing to recognize or speak to the youth or adults of color. We noticed this behavior and began singing "what side are you on my people? What side are you on? We on the freedom side." This chant was met with extreme responses from many people at the pool. One lifeguard called the police on us- she is pictured here and is currently training to become a cop. The officer who arrived is her uncle. They later informed us that the police were called because we were "singing racist songs." Some of the responses we heard from the pool staff were: "We aren't racist, and I wont shoot you, but they (the police) will." "It doesn't do any good to stir the pot." "These songs could get you killed." "It's good that the youth learn their heritage, but the civil rights movement was 50 years ago." Once the police arrived and we attempted to leave, a cop told a young person in our group "keep walking nigger," and threatened other young people in our group with arrest and physical harms. While the Civil Rights Movement was 50 years ago, anti-blackness (in the south AND the north) is alive and well. We paid to go there to have fun, and were met with racism and threats of violence of our people.. some as young as 12. This is unnacceptable, and we implore the pool in question to fire the lifeguard who called the cops unprovoked, and seriously interrogate their practices as a safe space for young people. Life guards should guard life.

This pool is community based and supported. It has been a…read morepopular summer hangout in the Carter community for many years. Proud of the families and people who have worked over the past few years to get this pool back up and functioning. Thank you for your hard work!