On Thursday, Gisele Fetterman, wife of Pennsylvania lieutenant governor and Senate candidate John, suggested in an interview that swimming in the United States had a "very racist" history.
The comments were made on a live-streamed episode of the iGen Politics podcast, wherein Fetterman and the hosts discussed her background, the work she's done in politics, and John's continuing post-stroke struggles.
Fetterman began by explaining that after John was elected in 2019, they were given access to a mansion, but said that they didn't want to live there because it was "taxpayer-funded," making them the first lieutenant governor family to waive the privilege.
"While we did not want the mansion," she continued, "that mansion came with a pool, and the pool I wanted."
"The dream was to open this pool, make it a public pool, turn it into the people's pool, and ensure that young people across Pennsylvania could learn how to swim and learn water safety."
Fetterman went on to state that the motivation behind the project was to "right some of the wrongs" in the past, saying of swimming that "historically in America, it's very racist."
"Usually when you look at drowning statistics," she noted, "it usually affects children of color, because of lack of access."
According to Fetterman, "thousands of young Pennsylvanians have learned how to swim in that pool," as they were "welcomed and embraced," regardless of their background.
A 2017 report from the University of Memphis revealed notable disparities in swimming ability among races. While just 40 percent of white children were unable to swim, for Hispanics that number rose to 45 percent, and was even higher for African-Americans, at 64 percent.
The report showed that the gaps are shrinking, with more minority children learning how to swim every year.
Speaking shortly after his wife had floated the idea of turning what would've been their backyard into a communal recreation space, John Fetterman said he "[couldn't] think of a finer, better use of the pool."
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