International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education Volume 11 Number 1 Special Issue: Diversity in Aquatics 1 Article 10 8-15-2018 Navigating Rough Waters: Public Swimming Pools, Discrimination, and the Law Steven N. Waller Ph.D. The University of Tennessee- Knoxville,
[email protected] Jim Bemiller JD University of Tennessee,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/ijare Part of the African American Studies Commons, Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons, Ethnic Studies Commons, Health and Physical Education Commons, Leisure Studies Commons, Other Legal Studies Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, and the Sports Studies Commons Recommended Citation Waller, Steven N. Ph.D. and Bemiller, Jim JD (2018) "Navigating Rough Waters: Public Swimming Pools, Discrimination, and the Law," International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education: Vol. 11 : No. 1 , Article 10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25035/ijare.11.01.10 Available at: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/ijare/vol11/iss1/10 This Education Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at ScholarWorks@BGSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@BGSU. Waller and Bemiller: Discrimination in Public Pools Abstract Historically, swimming pools have been a focal point of racial tension. Discrimination and segregation are inextricably tied to the history of public swimming usage in the United States. Pools are public spaces that are physically and visually intimate. History has revealed that both de jure (enacted through the law by the government) and de facto (occurs through social interaction) discrimination have contributed to segregatory practices in the United States.