A Note On The Diaspora and Swimming
Originally published 3/6/19 + Denise Powell | Ideas
To this day, my family often talks about the exchange students who were of African descent and from the island, Guadeloupe. After welcoming them to stay with my family in the 1990s, my parents reminisce about how the children would jump into the Mississippi River with ease and looked like they were one with the water. Within the world of sports, the African-American community has grown more and more of a presence within the world of swimming, but the average black American community is still missing out.
The relationship between the open bodies of water and people of African descent is as interesting as the people who come from the continent. Before the Transatlantic Slave Trade and New World Slavery, research and documentation shows that West Africans were proficient swimmers and used water both recreationally and for trade. While these authors and researchers demonstrate that there are prominent West Indian and West African cultures of swimming, they recognize that in certain regions of the United States and the world, there are melanated communities who don’t have the same relationship and comfort level with water as my family’s exchange students. This results in a public health issue of higher drowning rates in minority communities.
Throughout high school, I remember 5am swim team practices. Jumping in initially cold pool temperatures then eventually feeling the gradual warmth as I glided through the water. It’s both a therapeutic and comforting feeling, something that all students throughout this country should be able to experience. After a typical practice in 2010, I read the news headline about six African-American teenagers in Louisiana who drowned while one was trying to be saved by the others. Unfortunately, none of the teens or nearby adults knew how to swim, CNN reported. Before then, I had both heard of and knew people who drowned before, but this hit the closest home.
The USA Swimming Foundation has put forth much effort in answering ‘why’ and counteracting the fact that many African-Americans do not swim. Their research has found that if parents and other family members in the household do not swim, the children are also not likely to learn how to swim. The Foundation’s research also states that if children are afraid of drowning, they are 67 percent more likely to never learn to swim. Furthermore, 79 percent of children in households with an income less than 50,000 dollars do not learn to swim. There are many people of African descent who swam and could be seen as role models within our community.
Let’s look at the swimmers who defy stereotypes and use them as templates for what we can achieve. James Clark, born in 1886 in British Guiana, traveled to Liverpool, England at 14-years-old and was adopted by an Irish family. Clark learned to swim and would go on to teach children how to swim and occasionally even rescue people from drowning. Cullen Jones who almost drowned at 5-years-old, went on to become an Olympic gold medalist winner in 2008. In 2016, Simone Manuel became the first African-American female swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal. Most recently, the Pina siblings, including Latroya Pina, an athlete at Howard University, will be swimming their way to the 2020 Summer Olympics on behalf of Cape Verde. Despite what we see at pool parties or what we’re told in the media, African-Americans have a long-standing history and continually growing and thriving presence within the world of swimming. While it’s never too late to swim, teaching people to swim as early as possible in their lifespan could change the trajectory of how much of our community represents both recreational and competitive swimming.
Changing this aspect of our narrative as members of Melanin Meetups is very possible! Join or host a swimming class. Take your children or gather friends to visit a nearby aquatic center. Finally, if there is a pool party, jump on in (but of course, know your limits)! As adults, the more we swim, the more children will see this as the norm and follow suit. It’s just water.
