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The Only Black Swim Program in Allegheny County
The #BlackBabiesDoSwimPGH initiative was created by Melanin Mommies-Pgh Inc to combat the stigma that black kids do not swim or don't know how to swim.
In 2014, the CDC found that an 11-year-old black child is 10 times more likely to drown than a white child the same age. The notion that "black people can't swim” may sound like a stereotype, but it's a real disparity and it's rooted in a history of discriminatory access to swimming pools. Throughout history blacks were denied access to pools with clean water, attacked at segregated pools and unable to join local swim teams/lessons or compete in Olympic swim events.
In 2017, USA Swimming, the governing body for the sport of swimming in the U.S., found that:
- 64% of African American children do not know how to swim (compared to 40% of Caucasian children).
- 79% of children in families that earn less than $50,000 a year do not know how to swim.
- 76% of parents report that their children would be more interested in taking up swimming if they saw a talented swimmer that looked like them.
And according to their data, black children and their parents are three times more fearful of drowning than white children and their parents.
Let's Work on changing these statistics!
Lessons are held on Saturday and Sunday at the Thelma Lovette YMCA in the Hill District!
#BlackBabiesDoSwim
