Desegregating American Amusement

Up until very recently, recreation in America at places like pools, roller rinks, and amusement parks was segregated. It took decades of work for Black Americans to gain the basic right to inhabit public spaces in their cities. That is the subject of Race, Riots, and Roller Coasters: The Struggle Over Segregated Recreation in America by Professor Victoria Wolcott.

Black Americans staged sit-ins, sued many facilities, and endured a lot of white violence in pursuit of equal access to recreation and amusement. And, in the end, many of the stereotypes and justifications for exclusion used back then still circulate today. And, cities generally have significantly fewer venues for public recreation.

Music Credit

PeaceLoveSoul by Jeris (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/VJ_Memes/35859 Ft: KungFu (KungFuFrijters)