Fairground Pool Riot: A Tragic Legacy

A false rumor about a child's death sparked one of America's most shocking acts of pool violence

in 1949. St. Louis had just desegregated Fairground Pool, allowing Black families

to swim alongside white families for the first time. But when word spread that a Black man

had killed a white child at the pool, hundreds of white residents grabbed bats,

bricks, and whatever weapons they could find. The rumor was completely fabricated.

No child had died. Yet this lie ignited three days of brutal attacks against Black swimmers,

including children who were just trying to enjoy a summer day at the pool. Mobs surrounded

the facility, beating anyone who tried to enter or leave. Dozens of Black