By
Mallary Jean TenoreA new study released last week reveals that 58 percent of black children can't swim and that they drown at nearly three times the average rate. An estimated 56 percent of Hispanic children can't swim, compared to 31 percent of Caucasian children.
The findings are the result of a
USA Swimming survey intended to help bring more black people into the sport and lessen the number of minority drownings. Experts from the
University of Memphis surveyed 772 children aged 6 to 16 in six cities, two-thirds of whom were Hispanic or black. In conducting the survey, researchers learned that there is an important race and ethnicity element to their findings.
The Associated Press explains:
The minority swimming gap has deep roots in America's racial history. For decades during the 20th century, many pools were segregated, and relatively few were built to serve black communities.
John Cruzat, USA Swimming's diversity specialist, said these inequalities were compounded by a widespread misperception -- fueled by flawed academic studies -- that blacks' swimming ability was compromised by an innate deficit of buoyancy.
''There are people who still give credence to these stereotypes, even in the black and Hispanic community,'' said Cruzat, who wants to break the cycle that passes negative attitudes about swimming from one black generation to another.
Most black and Hispanic children surveyed said they did not consider swimming to be a "white sport," even despite the fact that black people make up less than 2 percent of USA Swimming's 252,000 competitive swimmers, according to the AP.
The minority swimming gap is a story worth localizing. With summer vacation approaching, you may want to visit your local pools and see what the demographics there are. If the majority of children are white, what are children of other races/ethnicities doing instead? How does the cost of private pools affect the demographics of families who swim there? How does all this tie into pool safety? What does a day in the life of a public pool v. a private pool look like?
Exploring such questions can help turn a report about a survey's findings into a story about the people behind the numbers.
