
A black family in British Columbia is devastated after they were asked to prove they were allowed to use the pool in their own townhouse complex, Global News Canada reports.
Guerda Henry, who is black, said she and her family, including her two daughters, ages 1 and 13, went for a swim Thursday afternoon at a neighborhood pool in Brooklands, where she purchased a home two years ago. Immediately upon walking in the pool area, she was confronted by the pool’s caretaker. “She said, ‘Um, there are some concerns that you guys shouldn’t be here,’” Henry said. “I said, ‘excuse me?’”
Even after she showed their key fob, which allowed them access to the pool area, they were still asked to provide identification. “I was like, ‘No I don’t have ID. Do you go swimming with ID in your back pocket?’” Henry said she asked the caretaker.
Despite the staff member had already confirmed their identity, Henry learned that the man who had asked the caretaker to check her ID went on to question her 12-year-old niece. The man later introduced himself as a member of the clubhouse committee and strata council.
Henry, a healthcare worker who moved to Canada from the Bahamas in 2013, said that at that point she was livid and felt it was an act of racism. “Only us, can you imagine?” Henry tells the resident. “Only us were asked to show ID. Can you imagine? That’s embarrassing.”
In a statement to Global News, the strata council said it is investigating the incident. “Steps are currently being taken to remove that committee member from the clubhouse committee based on their actions in overstepping their boundary,” the council said.
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