Swimming is life saving. Beyond that, it’s great fitness, physically and mentally beneficial. My children are mixed race (black and white) and swam competitively from the time they were 4. They loved it. At swim meets, they were often in an environment where most kids were light skin.... over time, we did see change.... we are in California and there is a lot of diversity. My kids are young adults now. They were achieving national times in high school, and swam in college. Swimming was a sport that provided a healthy activity, social interaction and they learned (especially my daughter), that the color of your skin is not an obstacle... even if the hair care was a lot of work lol. It’s the willingness to pursue something you enjoy and to not decide on a sport based on hair issues or social norms. I know there is a small representation of African Americans in swimming at high levels (Olympic), I hope that changes. It is my hope all young people pursue their interests without letting race, gender or norms discourage them.

I hope you won’t mind a contribution from an old white man!

I am a self taught swimmer who has spent a lifetime learning and reading about swimming and water safety.
I have every sympathy with what you are trying to achieve, but I think that it is worth pointing out that the problem isn’t exclusive to black people. You don’t have to look far to find a headline declaring “25% of UK adults unable to swim!” But when you look more closely, you find that they are only talking about swimming 25 metres in the safe environment of a pool. You need to do a lot better than that if you are going to survive any sort of real life emergency!
Swimming is a low priority school activity and when taught at all, it is generally taught badly. So it is mainly left to parents who can swim to teach their kids, which explains why it is an even bigger problem with ethnic minority children.
I am what the competitive establishment dismisses as a “recreational swimmer”. I never had the physique to win races, but I love to swim just for the pleasure of being in water. During my working life, I almost always managed to get a lunchtime swim once a week, and was able to swim 20 or 30 lengths in the time available. It was only after I retired that I had time to think about swimming distance and learning to do so with less effort. I am now convinced that with proper teaching, almost anyone could be able to spend an hour in the pool without standing up, hanging on, or hauling out. And if it isn’t as easy as walking it’s not your fault, you just haven’t been taught right!

wow