A century ago, Black Edmontonians fought for the right to swim at public pools

Ordinance segregating outdoor pools was one of many such policies in Canada

In the summer of 1924, a young boy unwittingly sparked controversy when he went to cool off at Edmonton's East End Pool.

The outdoor swimming pool in Borden Park was a crowded destination stretched out under the shadow of a wooden roller-coaster at the neighbouring midway.

When the boy, a Black kid with a group of white friends, tried to enter the pool, the attendant stopped him at the gate.

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That summer in 1924, the boy's mother, Willetta Poston, demanded that city council reverse the policy. She was supported by the committee of prominent members of the city's Black community, including Walker, Poston's brother.

In a letter, the committee said that the city commissioner, Christopher Yorath, had told them he personally thought a white man and a Black man "should not enter the same pool and that the order must stand."

more

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/100-year-anniversary-edmonton-pool-desegregation-1.7269724

Much of Canada's discriminatory practices toward Black communities has not been told in the past and is just now starting to come into the fore in a small sense. Hopefully that will continue and grow.