WCU History Professor to Hold Book-Signing & Community Discussion About His Newly-Released Book, The Nile Swim Club of Yeadon: A History
During the discussion, entitled “POOLS APART: Swimming in America as Black and White,” insights about the history of racially segregated swimming and its consequences today will be shared by the author and two members of the community.
Through the pages of his recently-released book, The Nile Swim Club of Yeadon: A History, West Chester University Professor of History Robert Kodosky calls attention to the
historic racial inequities around swimming that have repercussions to this day. According
to the CDC, Black children ages 10-14 years-old drown in pools at rates over seven
times higher than White children. Leaning into this reality, Professor Kodosky will
hold a book-signing and discussion with the community about the origins of the Nile
Swim Club in Yeadon, PA, as the country’s oldest owned and operated Black swim club,
on February 8, from 3:00-4:30 p.m., in West Chester University’s Philips Autograph
Library, located in Philips Memorial Hall (2nd floor), 700 South High Street, West Chester. Joining Professor Kodosky in the discussion,
which is entitled “POOLS APART: Swimming in America as Black and White,” will be Nile
Swim Club of Yeadon President Anthony Patterson, Sr. and Victoria Prizzia, project
creator of POOL: A Social History of Segregation. The event is free and open to the
community. All proceeds from the book will go to the Club’s program to teach all children
how to swim.
“Because of systemic economic inequalities, an alarming number of African Americans drown annually,” states Kodosky in his book’s introduction. “In some small way, this book might contribute to changing that by helping to ensure that the Nile’s programs, ones such as No Child Will Drown in Our Town, remain adequately funded. Not long ago, the Club entered bankruptcy three separate times and nearly became lost. That is unacceptable. The Nile Swim Club’s history is vital, as is its continued existence, as the members of its community firmly attest.”
This semester, Kodosky will work with students in the WCU History Department to conduct interviews with some of those highlighted in the book, as well as organize photos and artifacts collected from the Nile Swim Club. The students will create an engaging website where the interviews will be published. When completed, the oral history website will complement the book.
At the same time, Kodosky is also overseeing his students’ work on a digital storytelling project that focuses on wartime experiences; his students conducted interviews with 15 Ukrainian youth in Germany this past summer. He and his students engaged in a similar project last spring that resulted in an inspiring website that features the stories and voices of Vietnam veterans.
“There are many voices that often go unheard and stories untold,” shared Kodosky. “The Nile Swim Club project, in addition to others, ensures that individuals are finally able to share their voices as historical narratives.”