On a hot summer afternoon in 1959, hundreds of black families in this little town just outside Philadelphia gathered on Union Avenue to cool off and make some history.
Philadelphia Parks and Recreation is holding pop-up events for teenagers to recruit future lifeguards. Due to a lifeguard shortage, the city has not been able to open all of its swimming pools this year. Teenagers can sign up to take a lifeguard certification program for free. Once they turn 16, they can beginning serving as lifeguards.
The nation’s first Black-owned pool club aims to teach hundreds of children to swim this summer, helping to close a dangerous racial gap in the process.