A Rhode Island beach club, which counts Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse as a member, disputed allegations Wednesday that its members are all white after the lawmaker faced backlash.
The media’s characterization of Bailey’s Beach Club is “inaccurate and false,” the club said.
“Recent characterizations in the press and in other commentary about Baileys Beach Club are inaccurate and false,” a spokesperson for the club said. “Over many years, Club members and their families have included people of many racial, religious, and ethnic backgrounds from around the world who come to Newport every summer. Our membership comes from all over the globe to our small club, and we welcome the diversity of view and background they bring to our community.”
Whitehouse defended his decadeslong membership at the club, which at the time had faced criticism over a lack of diversity in its membership.
“It’s a long tradition in Rhode Island, and there are many of them, and I think we just need to work our way through the issues, thank you,” he said.
The club reportedly had admitted no minorities, and Whitehouse appeared to concede that people of color have not entered the club since.
“I think the people who are running the place are still working on that, and I’m sorry it hasn’t happened yet,” Whitehouse said.
The Democratic senator and his wife have been members at Bailey’s for decades, though he apparently transferred his shares in the club to his wife years ago, making her one of the largest stakeholders.
Whitehouse’s comments drew the attention of Gary Dantzler, the executive director of Black Lives Matter Rhode Island, who lambasted the “good ole boy mentality.”
“I am ashamed of Senator Whitehouse and his affiliation with this racist club,” Dantzler said Tuesday. “Him coming out and speaking about ending systemic racism while belonging to a ‘whites only’ private club is hypocrisy as it worst.”
Both black members of the GOP’s House caucus, Reps. Burgess Owens and Byron Donalds, criticized Whitehouse and likened his participation in the club to Jim Crow.
“Voter ID is Jim Crow, but all-white beach clubs are just ‘tradition’ … Seem backwards to anyone else?” Owens tweeted Tuesday morning.
Donalds called on President Joe Biden to recognize Whitehouse’s club membership as “Jim Crow 2.0.”
“You see, the Democrats like to use racially charged language like Jim Crow to divide the country and to distract you from the real racists in their party,” he continued.
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On Monday, Whitehouse reneged his comments, saying he “got the facts wrong.” The group has “diversity of membership” after speaking with a liaison from Bailey’s, he said.
The club, founded in the 1890s, boasts membership from around 500 families, including the Vanderbilts and the Astors.
