By Finlo Rohrer
BBC News, Washington
The drownings shocked the community and sparked a campaign
A month ago, six
African-American teenagers drowned in a single incident in Louisiana,
prompting soul-searching about why so many young black Americans can't
swim.
When 15-year-old DeKendrix Warner accidentally stepped into
deeper water while wading in the Red River in Shreveport, he panicked.
JaTavious Warner, 17, Takeitha Warner, 13, JaMarcus Warner,
14, Litrelle Stewart, 18, Latevin Stewart, 15, and LaDarius Stewart, 17,
rushed to help him and each other.
None of them could swim. All six drowned. DeKendrix was rescued by a passer-by.
Continue reading the main story
US swimming stats
- USA Swimming/University of Memphis study found ethnic differences
- 68.9% of African-American children with no or low ability to swim
- 57.9% of Hispanic children
- 41.8% of white children
- Study quizzed 2,000 children and parents in six US cities
- CDC recorded 3,443 fatal accidental drownings in 2007
- Drowning is second greatest cause of accidental death in children under 14
- African-American children aged 5 to 14 3.1 times more likely to drown
Maude Warner, mother of three of the victims, and the other adults present also couldn't swim.
The US has almost 3,500 accidental drownings every year, almost 10 a day.
But according to the US Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, the fatal drowning rate of African-American children aged
five-14 is three times that of white children.
A recent study sponsored by USA Swimming uncovered equally stark statistics.
Just under 70% of African-American children surveyed said
they had no or low ability to swim. Low ability merely meant they were
able to splash around in the shallow end. A further 12% said they could
swim but had "taught themselves".
The study found 58% of Hispanic children had no or low swimming ability. For white children, the figure was only 42%.
"It is an epidemic that is almost going unnoticed," says Sue Anderson, director of programmes and services at USA Swimming.
The swimming body would like all children to be taught to swim.
Parents' responsibility
"We would like it to be like seatbelts and bicycle helmets," says Ms Anderson.
But the situation in the US can vary hugely even within a single state.
Olympic gold medallist Cullen Jones is a spokesman for swimming initiatives
Unlike the UK, where learning to swim is enshrined in the
national curriculum except in Scotland, the ultimate responsibility in
the US often lies with parents.
"I would love to make it a rule like they have in the UK,"
says Cullen Jones, a gold medallist in the freestyle 100m relay in
Beijing, and a spokesman for USA Swimming's Make a Splash campaign.
"It isn't a requirement, it isn't a priority in the US."
Jones's mother took him to swimming lessons after he nearly
drowned at a theme park aged five. By eight he was swimming
competitively.
The Make a Splash campaign is targeting all non-swimmers and
their parents but there is a particular focus on ethnic minority
families.
Fear factor
Many black parents are not teaching their children to swim.
Some might assume the fundamental reasons would be lack of
money for swimming lessons or living in areas where there were no pools,
but the reality is more complex.
"Fear of drowning or fear of injury was really the major
variable," says Prof Carol Irwin, a sociologist from the University of
Memphis, who led the study for USA Swimming.
Continue reading the main story
"Swimming never became a part of African- American recreational culture"
Prof Jeff Wiltse
Author, Contested Waters
Typically, those children who could not swim also had parents who could not swim.
"Parents who don't know how to swim are very likely to pass on not knowing how to swim to their children," says Ms Anderson.
In focus groups for the study, Prof Irwin said many black
parents who could not swim evinced sentiments like: "My children are
never going to learn to swim because I'm scared they would drown."
The parents' very fear of their children drowning was making that fate more likely.
The major reason behind the problem could lie in the era of
segregation says Prof Jeff Wiltse, author of Contested Waters: A Social
History of Swimming Pools in America.
"The history of discrimination… has contributed to the drowning and swimming rates," says Prof Wiltse.
In his work he identified two periods of a boom in swimming
rates in the US - in the 1920s and 1930s when recreational swimming
became popular and the 1950s and 1960s when the idea of swimming as a
sport really took off.
There are historical reasons why black children do not learn to swim
The first boom was marked by the construction of about 2,000 new municipal pools across the nation.
"Black Americans were largely and systematically denied access to those pools," he notes.
"Swimming never became a part of African- American recreational culture."
In the northern US that segregation in pools ended in the
1940s and early 1950s, but many white swimmers responded by abandoning
the municipal pools and heading off to private clubs in the suburbs
where segregation continued to be enforced.
"Municipal pools became a low public priority," he notes.
After the race riots of the 1960s, many cities did start
building pools in predominantly black areas, says Prof Wiltse, but there
was still a problem. Many of the new pools were small - often only 20
by 40ft (six by 12m) and 3.5ft (1m) deep.
Continue reading the main story
Theories for low black American swimming rates
- Propagation of incorrect scientific theories such as black people being much less buoyant
- Historic factors going as far back as slaves not being allowed to learn to swim
- Denial of access to pools in 1920s and 30s causing ripple effect to present day
- Lack of municipal pools in predominantly black neighbourhoods in 1960s onwards
- Perception of swimming as elitist or white sport
"They didn't really accommodate
swimming. They attracted young kids who would stand in them and splash
about. There really wasn't an effort to teach African-American children
to swim in these pools."
Although there are many poor or working class white children
who cannot swim for similar reasons, swimming has gained an image as a
"white sport".
"It is [seen as] a country club sport that only very rich
kids get to participate in. The swimming pool is [seen as] a very
elitist thing to have in your backyard," says Prof Irwin.
Bishop Larry Brandon, of the Praise Temple Full Gospel
Baptist Cathedral, knew the Warner family, and is now persuading other
pastors and ministers to use their pulpits to promote swimming.
Shreveport has quickly established a new swimming programme
in the victims names and there is a drive to challenge misconceptions
about swimming.
As well as the fear factor, Prof Irwin's study found that appearance was also a reason for African-Americans avoiding swimming.
Jones believes progress is being made
Black respondents, far more than white or Hispanic respondents,
were sometimes concerned about the effect chlorinated water would have
on their hair.
"African-American women, many of them if they go the beauty
shop and get their hair fixed they are not going to swim," says Bishop
Brandon.
Perhaps the most alarming thing is that the studies suggest
that those who cannot swim - like the Warners and Stewarts - often spend
time in pools and other swimming sites.
"Kids are going to be by the water, they love being by the
water, and that's something that we really need to make a priority,"
says Jones.
"Here everybody knows how to drive a car. It should also be a rite of passage to learn how to swim."
“You
just say ‘thank you,’” Sykes continued, “send them some flowers, take
them to dinner every now and then. You know, I told my wife you don’t
have to worry about it because, you know, we’ll be married so you know
there’s no sex involved.”
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