Red Cross Apologizes For 'Racist' Swimming Pool Poster

The American Red Cross issued a formal apology this week for a swimming safety poster that some decried as "racist" as it spread across social media.

The cartoon poster, titled "Be Cool, Follow The Rules," depicted a fictional pool scene, with various activities marked "cool" or "not cool." Of the five "not cool" designations, such as running, diving or pushing someone into the pool, four of them are being done by minority children.

The two "cool" activities — swimming with a parent and using the diving board — are done by white people.

The poster was reported at various pools across Colorado, and it is unclear exactly how many were printed or where they were distributed.

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"The American Red Cross appreciates and is sensitive to the concerns raised regarding one of the water safety posters we produced," a statement from the Red Cross said. "We deeply apologize for any misunderstanding, as it was absolutely not our intent to offend anyone. As one of the nation’s oldest and largest humanitarian organizations, we are committed to diversity and inclusion in all that we do, every day."

The Red Cross said the poster was taken down from its website and app, and everyone who got the poster has been told to take it down.

"Our organization has emphasized to our partners and on social media that it was absolutely not our intent to offend anyone and apologized for this inadvertent action," the statement continued. "We are currently in the process of completing a formal agreement with a diversity advocacy organization for their guidance moving forward."

Outrage over the poster appeared to begin with a Twitter user who sent a photo of it to the Red Cross on Monday, June 20:

The Red Cross responded to the tweet a day later, saying, "Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We’re removing this from our site immediately & are creating new materials." It issued the formal apology Monday.

Black Kids Swim, an online resource for black swimmers, said the posters have been used since 2014. The group started a change.org petition Sunday to have all of the posters removed.

"Swimming pools are uniquely symbolic in American race relations," the group said as part of the petition. "Throughout U.S. history and until quite recently, many swimming pools enforced segregation and prevented African Americans from swimming in pools and safe open water locations."