The Nile Swim Club is celebrating 50 years. Snippet from the Herald Tribune: "...It's a scene that wasn't possible more than 50 years ago in Yeadon, a Philadelphia suburb where black households wanting to join the local private pool were turned away because of their skin color. But in 1958, a group of eight black residents banded together to create the Nile Swim Club. The trailblazing facility is now celebrating its 50th year even as USA Swimming, the sport's national governing body, tries to recruit more minorities and reduce their lopsided drowning rates. ..." [Link]
Only 2% of Americans of African ethnicity can swim. A study released in May found that 58-percent of black children could not swim safely, compared with 31 percent of whites. [Link]
USA Swimming is trying to address it but I think it comes down to which socio-economic group has the most backyard pools or access to a pool. Show me a house with a pool behind it and I will show you a house where in most cases the occupants can swim.
2 comments:
Tony -- I think you may have your figure wrong there, I remember reading that less than 50% of black children can swim, and I think I've also seen the number quoted as only 40% of them being able to swim, but that 2% number seems improbably low.
Thanks JC, what a boo-boo that was! It is corrected now!
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