Current campaign could help
America watched the late former heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier almost drown on March 5, 1973, during The Superstars on ABC. The show featured champion athletes competing in various sports and it was a hit.
Frazier entered the 50-meter swim event. After lifeguards came to his rescue, Frazier admitted he did not know how to swim. I admit my father and I laughed. But this dangerous decision could have cost Frazier his life. It also perpetuated the stereotype that Black people cannot swim.
When Mark Spitz dominated the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, there were no Black members in an aquatic sport on the respective U.S. teams.
Forty years later at the Olympic Games in Rio, Simone Manuel won a gold medal in the 100-yard freestyle, becoming the first Black female swimmer to accomplish the feat.
Following her victory, she said “I would like there to be a day where there are more of us, and it’s not Simone, the Black swimmer.”
“The title ‘Black swimmer’ makes it seem like I’m not supposed to be able to win a gold medal, or I’m not supposed to be able to break records.”
Team USA then won the 2016 Olympic women’s water polo tournament. Goalkeeper Ashleigh Johnson became the first U.S. Black woman from the U.S. to win gold in that sport.
Other Black Olympic medalists now include Anthony Ervin, Maritza Correia, Cullen Jones, and Lia Neal.
At next month’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic swimming and water polo teams will likely include Manuel Johnson and Paralympian Jamal Hill, who won three medals in swimming at the 2019 Para Pan American Games.
The roster of Black aquatic sports Olympians will always be limited if more Black youths do not learn to swim. According to the USA Swimming Foundation, 64% of African American children surveyed (ages 4-18) had no or low swimming ability, compared to 45% of Hispanic children and 40% of white children.
Only 1% of almost 400,000 swimmers registered with USA Swimming are African American.
The SWIM ON Foundation has launched its “Learn to Swim” campaign and is reaching out to African American families, particularly in North St. Louis and North St. Louis County, and encouraging them to enroll their children in swim lessons. It is more than just a fun and healthy thing to do – African American youths drown at 5.5 times the rate of other children.
SWIM ON is partnering with preschools, schools, youth centers, churches and other organizations in the Black community on the campaign that was created by the Kuhl/Swaine advertising agency and St. Louis artist Cbabi Bayoc.
“Swimming is a healthy, lifelong activity but it is also, like reading, a critical life skill and one that can potentially save lives,” says Lisa McMullin, a SWIM ON co-founder with her husband, Kim.
“Every child needs to know how to swim. Every child has the right to learn to swim.”
McMullin acknowledges that “cost and accessibility are significant factors affecting swim lessons in the African American community.”
“The Swim On website, www.SwimOnFoundation.org, lists swim lesson providers and shares information about scholarships and free lessons.”
In addition, the has guidance on swim gear including swim caps designed for Black hair, flotation devices and safety recommendations for the five layers of protection that can – and do – prevent drowning.
By the way, I learned to swim when I was seven at the indoor Kirkwood YMCA pool – during a frigid winter with several Saturday lessons occurring when it was below zero outside.
The Reid Roundup
Kelly Crull of Bally Sports South shared this heartwarming story during the Atlanta Braves game at Miami on June 13. Before leaving on the road trip, Braves pitcher Josh Tomlin stopped at a Dick’s Sporting Goods to purchase a travel bag. He overheard a conversation between a Black mother and her son, Reggie, about the purchase of a new glove. Tomlin introduced himself and offered the tip that the glove being considered was too large. He asked Reggie who his favorite player is, and the youth said Braves right fielder, Ronald Acuna, Jr. Tomlin asked mom and son to “hang tight for a minute.” He left the store and brought back an Acuna bobblehead that was in his truck. He told Reggie that if he loved baseball as much as he says, never give up on the game regardless of how difficult it might become. Reggie said, “yes sir,” and then Tomlin purchased an appropriately sized glove for him, leaving a smile on Reggie’s face and his mom in tears.
