MLK Community Pool 

BY MAGGIE OLIVE KLEIN 

KONKLIFE STAFF WRITER AND EDITOR 

On July 7th, 2022, during a Bahama Village Redevelopment Advisory Committee Meeting, board members discussed the engineering update for the Frederick Douglass Community Center, and the MLK Pool. The discussion was prompted with the structural needs of the center/pool, and redeveloping the building. The City Clerk said, “Obviously it is a historic building, so conversations will need to be held on what direction to go in, but we need to be ready, the building is old and is reaching its end of life.” She continued on to say that the structure has about five years left. There is a list of projects that was discussed, but the pool was of interest because of the memories it left locals with from their childhood. Upon reflection, Annette Mobley says, “Not only do we need the structure to be brought back, but we need Ms. Lee. She was in charge of the pool and made sure to teach every kid how to swim.” The board agreed with what Mobley said, and echoed the importance of having somebody to oversee and regulate the pool as well as she did. Chairman Aaron Castillo said, “Even in a wheelchair, Ms. Lee ran the pool like it was supposed to be run.” However, due to the national lifeguard shortage, accessing lifeguards for the pool presents a bit of a struggle. 

Because of the five year lifespan left on the building, there will soon be a structural engineer to get data about what needs to be done. The building was built in 1959, and moving forward, any future structure will be built with the same, or longer, lifespan. Board members emphasized the need to preserve historic aspects of the pool, especially the overall design, as it has significance to the community. They reflected on all of the importance that the pool had in years past, having been a site for dancers, pool parties, weddings, and a lot more. 

John Wilson Smith, a proud member of the Bahama Village Community and President of the Frederick Douglass School Black Educators Memorial Project, spoke at the meeting regarding the pool. He said, “I am here to represent the people of the community. We will be watching everything, because this community has been so wronged. On the subject of the pool, we have held summer camps there several years ago, and the rooms in the back of the building look so much worse than they did back in 2015. There is black mold, doors hanging off hinges, and disgusting floors. Lets not just clean up what is in the public eye, lets clean up what is swept under the rug.” He pushes the importance of preserving the facilities that are at community members disposal, rather than just maintaining a certain image. 

The project doesn’t yet have funding, but the topic is to be further discussed and considered. 

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