Joe Biden says he learned about Black people by becoming lifeguard

During a pool renaming ceremony in his hometown Wilmington, Delaware, the former vice president shared why he's grateful for his time as lifeguard.

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

On Monday, former Vice President Joe Biden went back to a Wilmington, Delaware, pool to attend the renaming ceremony.

The pool is now called the Joseph R. Biden Sr. Aquatic Center, according to the News Journal.

In the ’60s, the pool was called Price Run Pool and was situated in a mostly Black neighborhood. Biden was the only white lifeguard working there in 1962, but he said that it was a purposeful choice and that his time there had helped him to broaden his perspective on race relations. He said that he had decided to work there to “get more involved.”

“I’d turn on the television and see and listen to Dr. [Martin Luther] King, but I didn’t know any Black people,” he said. “So, I wanted to work here.”

During the renaming ceremony, Biden thanked his adopted hometown for opening his eyes and shaping his life.

“I owe you all,” Biden said. “I owe this neighborhood. I learned so, so much.”

He later added, “I’ve received an awful lot of wonderful honors all my career. The greatest honor is serving you for so long. But this does mean more to me than anything that’s happened.”

 

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