'White Only' Pool Sign is Still Racist

 Sign posted July 2011

The Ohio Civil Rights Commission ruled against a landlord who posted a white only pool sign.  Ohio landlord Jamie Hein, age 31, posted a white only sign at her swimming pool forcing a family to move out of its home due to the humiliation caused by the sign. Father of the child subject to this humiliation made an official complaint to the Commission.

The landlord gave the Ohio Civil Rights Commission conflicting reasons as to why she posted the sign. First Hein claimed the sign had been posted prior to the biracial child using the pool, but several witnesses  responded that Hein posted the racist sign only after the biracial child used the pool. Then, Hein claimed she was an antique collector, and she posted the sign because it was a gift. Again, several witnesses refuted Hein's reasoning by responding that Hein posted the sign to "protect her assets" because the girl's hair made the pool "cloudy."

The Commission decided the sign "restricts the social interaction between Caucasians and African-Americans and reinforces discriminatory action aimed at oppressing people of color."  This case will be referred to the Ohio Attorney General's Office and an administrative law judge to assess possible penalties and determine whether punitive damages should be awarded.

Read the full story here.