San Antonio pools reflect a history of exclusion and change
Why it matters: San Antonio is confronting its racist past, working to make pools more accessible in a city where cooling off is critical amid extreme heat.
Flashback: In June 1954, six Black children swam at a public pool at Woodlawn Lake Park, pushing against an unwritten whites-only rule. White swimmers left, the pool shut for "repairs," and a cross was burned that night, per the Express-News.
The next day — Juneteenth — the City Council formally banned Black residents from public pools.
The ordinance remained until 1956, when pressure from Latino council members like Henry B. González and a federal lawsuit forced its repeal.
Between the lines: In 1943, three Mexican American men sued after being denied entry to the privately owned Terrell Wells Pool, advertised as San Antonio's only "restricted" pool.
A lower court ruled in their favor, but the Texas Supreme Court let segregation stand — exposing the contradiction of being counted as white by the U.S. Census, but still excluded in practice, per the Bullock Museum.
What they're saying: " If there was one place the people were the most resistant to integrating, it was swimming pools, and it never really got a lot of attention," Francine Romero, a civil rights law expert and University of Texas at San Antonio professor, tells Axios.
State of play: San Antonio's Parks and Recreation Department now uses tools like the Equity Atlas and community input to guide investment in underserved areas, spokesperson Connie Swann tells Axios.
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