African-Americans and Swimming

Lenny Giteck

A study has shown that 60 percent of African-American children don’t know how to swim – twice the rate for white children. And the rate at which black children drown in this country is three times the overall drowning rate for kids. The picture for African-American adults is similarly disturbing. What are the causes for this disparity? What are the solutions?

Sadly, this problem has largely been overlooked and neglected – and WaterShapes EXTRA! wants to help change that. We think the issue should be important to our entire nation and to watershapers in particular. We urge you to learn more about the subject by clicking on the links below. (Note: Some Web sites may open behind this page.)

It is a tragedy when anyone drowns – but a horrific event in August of last year in which six African-American teenagers drowned in Louisiana’s Red River was especially troubling. Despite the fact that none of the teens knew how to swim, they dove into the water to save their friends and relatives. To make matters worse, the teens’ parents were there and witnessed what transpired – yet because none of them knew how to swim, either, they were unable to help the victims.

To read about this terrible incident, click on http://tinyurl.com/25kttlx.

In 2010, the Web site Brooklyninc.com ran an outstanding article (“Everybody in the Water: Black People Too”) that included a historical perspective as to why blacks are less apt to learn how to swim than others in America. For example, during slavery it was feared that the ability to swim would enable more slaves to escape their bondage. During segregation, public swimming pools and beaches largely were off limits to blacks; black men being in the water with white women was a particular taboo. In addition to giving a historical background, the article reports on more recent factors and on measures being taken to ensure that African-Americans (as well as Hispanic-Americans) learn how to swim.

To read the article, click on http://tinyurl.com/2fuhanf.

In April 2009, National Public Radio interviewed Jodi Jensen, an assistant professor and Director of Aquatics at Hampton University, a predominantly African-American institution of higher learning located in Virginia. Although Jensen is not herself African- American, she is committed to turning around the problem of African-American non-swimming.

To listen to the interview, click on http://tinyurl.com/3xrtz8d.

In the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, African-American Cullen Jones won a gold medal – the third African-American swimmer to do so – in the 4×100 m freestyle relay in a world record time of 3:08.24 (together with Michael Phelps, Jason Lezak and Gerrett Weber-Gale). That was only one of many impressive achievements during Jones’ competitive swimming career – this despite the fact that he almost drowned as a child.

To watch a video of Jones talking about educating African-Americans on the importance of learning how to swim, go to http://tinyurl.com/4gzvmpg.

To listen to an NPR radio interview with Jones (“Olympic Medalist Cullen Jones Wants More Minorities to Swim”), go to http://tinyurl.com/4o87dko.

To read about other successful African-American competitive swimmers (“Tough Swim Through Stereotypes for African-Americans”), go to http://tinyurl.com/48xockx.