Across the country, Black children and youth are twice as likely as the general population to die by drowning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

And this crisis is compounded by the fact that their parents are 20% more likely to be non-swimmers, creating a cycle that perpetuates the problem across generations, according to researchers from the CDC and Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago.

As climate threats continue to intensify, so does the need for water safety knowledge to navigate emergency flood situations. In addition, there’s a growing need to learn ways to cool off during extreme heat. Outdoor Afro, a national Black environmental organization, is attempting to tackle both of these swimming disparities. 

The organization is providing up to $400 per family for beginner swim lessons through an app-based application process that connects Black children and caregivers with providers nationwide. 

Outdoor Afro’s Making Waves program, launched in 2019, partners with organizations like Foss Swim School, which has already taught hundreds of students across 29 locations. This year, they are committing to supporting 2,000 Black families in learning life-saving swimming skills for free. Applicants are also able to receive reimbursements if they’ve already signed up for lessons.

“Knowing how to swim is a key lever to saving lives, but really also unlocking the joy that a relationship with water can bring in an individual’s lives and that our planet needs,” said Rue Mapp, founder of Outdoor Afro.

Mapp was inspired to start the program after witnessing a young boy unable to join his friends in the water during one of her events. 

“I can’t have any child in an Outdoor Afro event not feel the freedom to choose, without fear of embarrassment, to have a relationship with water,” Mapp added.

Why it matters

Black children and youth are more likely to drown in public pools. Black children aged 10 to 14 drown at rates 7.6 times higher than white children, according to CDC data.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration gutted the CDC’s Injury Prevention Center, which eliminated teams that focused on drowning deaths and prevention nationwide. Advocates said these changes make this issue even more critical as the growing threats of natural disasters continue to increase because of climate change. 

Already, Black neighborhoods face more major flooding events than non-Black ones and by 2050, the number is expected to rise. Black neighborhoods will face twice as many flood events as non-Black areas, making the survival skill of swimming even more important.  

The issues persist even in recreational settings. In the beginning of the 1900s, Black people swam at higher rates than white people. By the end of the century, however, white people had much higher swim rates than Black people because segregation led to Black Americans not having equal access to swimming grounds.

What’s next

Learning how to swim, whether in a pool or a river, Mapp said, is the perfect place to reconnect Black joy with the natural world.

“We have to make sure that our approach to climate and our overall environmental health is balanced with concern, as well as joy and opportunity,” Mapp said. 

“Because I find that if we were talking about water in only fear-based terms, that is not the pathway towards helping people to develop the kind of care and action that we all need to be on board for as climate change makes the relationship with water more necessary.”

If you already know how to swim, you can help support the program by donating to their “swimmership” fund or sign up as a swim lesson provider.