Opponents of political correctness and mandated diversity may want to make the folks at the Phoenix aquatics department the poster children of PC madness.
Officials for the city of Phoenix, which runs dozens of public pools, decided that they were uncomfortable with the pools’ clientele consisting mostly of blacks and Hispanics while the lifeguards were nearly all white.
The solution? Hire minority kids to work as lifeguards, even if their swimming skills are poor.
As reported by NPR.org, the aquatics department, which hires 500 lifeguards each summer, is recruiting kids from high schools with large minority student populations, regardless of their swimming abilities.
One city official explained her concern about the white lifeguards: “The kids don’t relate; there’s language issues.”
In the past, lifeguards were chosen from schools that have swim teams. The competitive swimmers, as is the case at high schools across the nation, are nearly all white.
To diversify its lifeguard ranks, the city raised about $15,000 to offset the cost of lifeguard certification for the low-income kids. Recruits who eventually pass a basic swim test can apply to become city lifeguards. Officials assured NPR that pool staff will work with those lifeguards who struggle in the water on their swimming skills all summer.
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