Learning a new sport and saving lives: The push to teach swimming to more Black children
Kennedie Boyd is part of all-Black swim teach for children and teenagers at the O’Fallon Park Recreation Complex YMCA in St. Louis. Photo Courtesy of O’Fallon Park Recreation Complex YMCA
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, swimming is one of the most popular recreational sports in America, behind only walking, running and cycling.
Along with Native Americans, people who are Black and under 30 drown at significantly higher rates than their peers who are white. Because of that, there has been an effort to get more Black children into swimming lessons and into swimming as a sport.
The head coach of an all-Black swim team for children and teenagers based in St. Louis and a Ph.D. candidate, who has designed a swim lesson program focused on Black girls join the 21st to discuss this issue and how to combat it.
GUESTS
Latashia Key
Ph.D. Candidate, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Department of Recreation, Sports and Tourism
Terea Goodwin
Head Swim Coach, O'Fallon Park Recreational Complex - Makos Swim Team