04/19/24
August 12, 2010
Why Most Black Kids Don't Know How to Swim: A recent drowning tragedy in Shreveport, Louisiana has brought to light a startling statistic in America: a majority of black youth cannot swim. The reasons for the high percentage (almost twice that of whites) range from the legacy of slavery to segregation and lack of available swimming opportunities to fear passed down by modern parents to black women not wanting to damage their high maintenance hairstyles to the position of the belly button, according to a study (article about study, audio discussion with some of the researchers of the study). Whatever the reasons, Diversity in Aquatics aims to fix the swimming gap and the documentary Parting the Waters looks at the lack of Black and Latino competitive swimmers in the U.S. (via MetaFilter).
Great points Demophon. Many of the issues that people are quick to label as race related are really more correctly labeled as socio-economic issues. Poor people in many areas just do not have the same access to some facilities as do more affluent people.
posted by dviking at 11:44 PM on August 12, 2010
Here's a recent story on the similar statistics for "new" Canadians.
To just add to the complicated web of race, socio-economic status, etc. is to simply cite "cultural differences." Not mentioned in the link I attached are the waterfront programs in Northern (i.e., Arctic or sub-Arctic) communities (yes, with predominantly Aboriginal populations). But put simply, some people just approach the water differently. You may not "swim" yet basically live on or near the water. So proximity or access might not necessarily be the mitigating factor here.
I've linked this story to the Dr. Giles mentioned in the article. She could sum it up quite nicely.
posted by Spitztengle at 01:37 AM on August 13, 2010
It's socio economic, sure, but also climate related.
At home in Australia, learning to swim is a compulsory activity in all primary schools. Everyone has to pass a basic water safety test.
It helps to have good weather and cheap public swimming pools in every suburb and town, too.
posted by owlhouse at 04:03 AM on August 13, 2010
This story reminds me of an incredible blog post I read recently by a boating safety expert: Drowning doesn't look like drowning.
St. Augustine has a history that helps explain why blacks are less likely to be swimmers. They were beaten by cops with billy clubs when they tried to swim in the ocean, and after they used a local hotel pool, the owner poured in muriatic acid.
posted by rcade at 08:15 AM on August 13, 2010
I think the parents know how to swim is a pretty important angle. As rcade points out, there are specific cultural reasons why there is a higher rate of non-swimming among blacks. That results in parents who are not as persistent to ensure that their children know how to swim. Some kids (especially mine) are very reluctant to submerge in the water. It would be easy to give up as a parent. Parents that are swimmers are much less likely to give up on that process than non-swimmers.
posted by bperk at 12:04 PM on August 13, 2010
Drowning doesn't look like drowning.
This is awesome. I'm learning real life-saving stuff here on SpoFi!!! Seriously, that's great info.
posted by Spitztengle at 12:29 PM on August 13, 2010
While I think that all of the theories proposed above and in the article have some merit, another key one that I think is forgotten is that this isn't just a race issue. While race allows for a simple a or b breakdown of the people involved and there fore makes it look nice and clear cut, I think that there is a much larger socio-economic aspect that is not mentioned.
I am white, my wife is half Puerto Rican (father) half white (mother). I know how to swim and was taught how at a very young age. My wife can barely swim, and for the first couple of years we were together she didn't know how to swim at all. It was because her family lived in a ghetto area and did not have access to the facilities that I did living in a more suburban area.
Since her father came to the US from a poor part of Puerto Rico and didn't know how to swim, and her mother grew up in the same down trodden area that my wife grew up in, she didn't know either. On the other hand, my wife has an aunt who is half white (same mother as my mother-in-law) and half black (father) and she knows how to swim very well and her children who are 3/4 black all know how to swim. The reason for this though is that my wife's aunt was able to get out of the ghetto areas at a much younger age and got access to those facilities and made sure that they would also be available to her children. My mother in-law did not get out of the ghetto area and so her children never had that opportunity.