Brown-Burton Winchester Park in Wilmington, Delaware is getting a new name. The Delaware pool has been renamed after Joe Biden, who worked there as a lifeguard in the 1960s. NBC Philadelphia's Tim Furlong shared a photo of Biden by the pool surrounded by children, and fans of the former vice president are going to love it.
The sunny photo shows Biden sitting in a navy blue suit while in the lifeguard chair by the pool where he once worked. He's surrounded by local children who came out to enjoy the pool on a hot summer day. Delaware Gov. John Carney commenced the renaming of what will now be known as the Joseph R. Biden Sr. Aquatic Center.
According to his autobiography, in 1962, Biden was the only white lifeguard working at the predominantly black community pool, which was then known as the Prices Run Pool. He wrote that his employment as a lifeguard there expanded his understanding of race relations and heightening racial tension in the United States.
"I wanted to get more involved," Biden said. "I'd turn on the television and see and listen to Dr. [Martin Luther] King and others, but I didn't know any black people."
At the ceremony, Biden said the pool played an integral role in shaping his perspective on race and inter-communal relations. In a statement to the public, Biden said, "I owe you all. I owe this neighborhood. I learned so, so much."
The former vice president expressed gratitude for the renaming and said, "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."
The governor extolled the gesture as a message for everyone to remember Biden's contribution to the community. He said that naming the facility after Biden was a "message to these young people and young people across the state and city about [Biden] stood for and continues to stand for."
