Drowning deaths disproportionately affect Black residents in NC
Economic and financial factors have led to access issues for those in communities of color, resulting in too many people not being able to swim.
Posted — UpdatedThe sun sits low in the sky, yet water droplets are already splashed across the concrete walkway surrounding Lakemont pool.
The Swim Tribe team practices a variety of strokes at different distances. The team is the Triangle's first organized group that is primarily comprised of children of color.
"Coming up, I didn’t get to see a minority owners," said Gerard Woody, a former NC State swimmer who is the founder and coach at Swim Tribe.
He started the organization with the mission to "reach one, teach one," meaning he is using his skills to teach other people of color how to swim.
Zion Hall is one of those swimmers. The 17-year-old has been swimming for about nine years now, she says. She picked up the sport first as a skill because she was the only one of her friends who didn’t know how to swim so she felt excluded from summer fun.
"My friends would swim out but I couldn't," said Hall. "I felt left out so I wanted to fit in and enjoy the sport."
Now, she swims competitively. She's the eldest on the team. She feels her role is similar to Woody's -- helping out others.
Both swimmers says it's heartbreaking to hear about drownings especially when they occur in the Black community, which they often do.
"Water in general is a beautiful thing but if you don’t know anything about it, it is very dangerous," said Woody. "You’d rather spend money on swim lessons than a casket."
The swim coach says the sport has been slow to diversify but there has been some recent progress. For him, this team is about more than just winning – it’s about closing that gap, providing equal access to the sport… and teaching skills to help people from communities of color learn how to swim.. How to survive.
"It might not be me but the generation after or the next one, they might take it to the next level and it’ll just be normal [to see people of color competing]."
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