The renaming of a Barton Springs bathhouse
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A 1947 view of Barton Springs Pool. Photo courtesy Austin History Center
The bathhouse at Barton Springs Pool is poised to be renamed for a Black woman who was key to the pool's integration.
Why it matters: The pool, widely considered an embodiment of inclusivity in Austin, was once off-limits to people like Joan Means Khabele.
Flashback: In 1956, Khabele, the oldest child of civil rights activists Bertha Sadler Means and James Means, was one of the first Black students to enroll at all-white Austin High School, according to a city memo.
- When Khabele and other Black students were denied the opportunity to swim at Barton Springs during the Austin High School annual senior picnic, she jumped into the pool in an act of civil disobedience.
- City policies forbade Black people from swimming in the pool at that time, according to the memo.
- Barton Springs Pool officially integrated in 1962, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
After working in the Peace Corps and as an educator, Khabele eventually returned to Austin, raising three children, and died in 2021 at age 78.
What's happening: A proposal to rename the bathhouse — currently known simply as the Barton Springs Bathhouse — as the "Joan Means Khabele Bathhouse at Barton Springs Pool" won unanimous approval from the Austin Parks and Recreation Board this week. The Austin City Council will take up the measure in April, per the Austin Monitor.
What they're saying: "I believe it is important to name the bathhouse in her honor, because it is important to acknowledge the contributions of Black Austinites," Lesedi Khabele-Stevens, a grandchild of Khabele, said at the board meeting on Monday.
- "To take that a step further, not acknowledging Austin's history in regards to racism and segregation — and those who fought against it — contributes to gentrification and the erasure of Black people in Austin. She had eight grandchildren in total, and we were able to enjoy Barton Springs as a result of her heroic acts."
The bottom line: The bathhouse should be renamed in her honor because her actions "changed our city's values," Scott Cobb, a Barton Springs lifeguard, wrote in his naming proposal.