Never underestimate the message Fred Rogers, a Christian Methodist minister, sent when he dipped his toes into a pool shared by a black, gay friend. He was uniquely gifted to understand the message of a friend from centuries ago, who simply asked that we love our neighbour (hello!), especially in an age when travel was so dangerous that it was a sin to deny an exhausted, tired traveller’s access to your home. Today the Methodist church is quite liberal, but it can not yet reconcile the written beliefs of a historical group of people with a vilified minority who hurt no-one.

Mr Rogers was far ahead of his religion, and his time, and ... who cares, he taught us what we needed when we needed it, and that message, is was Jesus’, is timeless.

Officer Clemmons was also gay，which at the time was an even bigger no-no

Mr.Rogers had such a profound positive impact on my childhood.

It's the little things.

Crazy to think that the children and grandchildren of the very same people who upheld this system for so long walk amongst us

I heard Pittsburgh was particularly cruel during the Civil Rights Movement. I really hope the statement shown by this wasn't lost on true hardcore Pittsburghers.

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1969. 19…69. Systemic racism is still so embedded into the fabric of American life, Mr. Rogers had to step in and educate adult white people. Wish he was still alive to make some more educational videos because too many adults still have a lot to learn about being a humane being.

Fucking legend.

But why wasn't this a bikini stream? Tub is right there

He also felt Fred was a homophobe early in life and actively confronted him about it

Fun fact... Hundred acres manor (the haunted house) is held in the old "colored" swimming pool bathhouse

Pittsburgh is now as well depending on who you run into. True Pittsburghers are also quick to call these particularly cruel people (who typically aren’t from around here originally) jagoffs.

Everyone is welcome in my neighborhood.

I'm sorta shocked at how old the picture is. Both the uniform and quality of the picture makes it seem much more recently taken to me. Absolutely amazing he did this

This isn't the 1969 picture. The scene was re-shot several times over the years for new shows. If you find the original clip, you will notice both of them are much younger.

In no way doubting this; I’d like to know more about this.

I have a very rosy image of Fred from growing up in pgh. I think getting a complete picture, however imperfect, is a good way to properly honor someone’s life.

Would like to know more if you have good sources to share. On mobile at the moment, and intend to research later, but figured why go down a previously traveled path, yknow?

He was definitely a staple in my house growing up.

I don't know the name of it but officer Clemons was talking about it in one of his many interviews about Fred for a documentary. I think it was years after the pool scene and he was talking about accepting the whole him... the way he talked about it I would be surprised if he didn't also talk about it in his book .

Sounds like a good start, I’ll start there for adding to my reading list. Thanks, cheers!

My recollection is that Fred knew Clemmons was gay and encouraged him to stay in the closet, suggesting it would severly hurt Clemmons' career if he came out. I do not recall ever hearing that Clemmons felt less than accepted by Fred. Not defending it, but it was a different time. EDIT: typo

Quick Mr. Rogers story. Next to my parents Mr. Rogers was the formative figure in my childhood. Skip to 1999 and I am ridiculously hungover after a Pitt/Oakland party at 7am. Mr. Rogers, out for his morning jog, crosses my path and gives me that “I like you just the way you are” but pull your stuff together look. Real gut check moment.

Read a book earlier this this year (“When You Wonder, You’re Learning”) that explains this scene and how he worked civil rights into Mister Rogers Neighborhood. Great story, great Pittsburgher

It’s in the documentary

But which one?

The Morgan Neville one. “Won’t you be my neighbor?”

The man we never deserved but sorely sorely need today.

If you live in Pittsburgh you already know this lol

Pictures shot on old school film are amazingly detailed compared to modern pictures taken digitally on DSLRs or mirrorless digital cameras. So I wouldn't put it past a reproduction made recently using original negatives to look better than a modern picture.

They touched on this in the recent Rogers documentary. That yes, Rogers encouraged Clemmons to stay in the closet (not go to gay bars where he'd been spotted, etc) for the sake of the show's survival -- but that his message about loving his neighbor was also very specifically aimed at Clemmons "I love you just the way you are."

Clemmons says that he had a conversation with Rogers where Rogers confirmed he was specifically telling Clemmons that that phrase was specifically Rogers telling Clemmons he accepted him and loved him as-is. So if Clemmons felt that Rogers was as welcoming and understanding as a trained minister could reasonably be expected to be in that era, I take Clemmons' word for it.

It's more complicated than that, as you may expect that it would be.

In the documentary, Clemmons says he was spotted going to gay bars, and Rogers confronted him about it because in that era, being spotted in a gay bar would mean the show would be cancelled and that was bad for the children. Rogers basically ordered Clemmons to be more discrete or he couldn't be on the show anymore.

But Clemmons also says that he eventually came to understand Rogers' message of "I love you just the way you are" was specifically aimed at Clemmons directly -- that it was Rogers way of saying he loved and accepted Clemmons including his homosexuality as a natural and okay part of who he was, and that Rogers confirmed that's exactly what he meant to Clemmons directly.

So Clemmons seemed to have ended things on a positive note with Rogers.

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Latrobe’s finest!

Clemmons talks about both the gay bar thing, and about realizing what "I love you just the way you are" meant in the documentary "Won't You Be My Neighbor". The whole movie is worth watching, but man, someone was cutting onions in the theater during the segment Clemmons was talking.

Oh thank you, I didn't know they recreated the shot several times, that could explain it!

And Sears was the major sponsor of the show back then. If it got out, Sears would have pulled the sponsorship and the show would have ended. Sounds extreme today, but police were still raiding gay bars in 1969 and people went to jail, which ended careers inst.

People are funny. I had a best friend in college who came out as bisexual and told all his friends about it. As his most conservative friend, he was worried about me the most. But when I finally pried the information out of him (just something seemed off when we were together), I told him I was fine with it and he admitted some of his more liberal friends definitely weren't okay with it.

Mr. Rogers, if it's so hot, might wanna try taking that sweater off!