BBC - Why don't black Americans swim

I'm in Canada. A couple years ago, working as a lifeguard, a group of kids (14-16 year olds) came from New York. Where I worked was where mostly white, middle class kids attented, and maybe half of the 200 kids there could swim.

However, when the group from New York came, I was suprised that this entire group from a Boys and Girls Club knew how to swim. All 30 of them!

When I saw this headline, I was immediately reminded of this ^^. Different experiences I guess lead to different suggestions.

Here is a study that tried to pin why whites are traditionally better swimmers while blacks are traditionally better runners. Apparently the study concluded that it had to do with the location of the belly button...center of gravity. We are different races after all, it's not silly to say we aren't totally equal...just as genders aren't totally equal and people's abilities vary person to person (and I'm not talking in legal terms.)

www.sportsgrid.com...

[edit on 4-9-2010 by yellowcard]

Originally posted by MrSmith
My guess is because 3 times more black Americans in that age group live in areas that are inner city and far away from swimming sources in compared. Pretty logical if you think about it. You dont learn to swim if you never leave the inner-city or can't afford swimming lessons.

That would be my assumption.

I'm from Los Angeles - - - and believe me EVERY kid here takes advantage of the public pools.

By the way - James Darren who played Moondoggie in the Gidget movie is from Philadelphia and of Italian descent. He could not swim.

It isn't just blacks.

reply to post by MrSmith


I grew up on the worst most crime ridden side of town in the Capitol City of Michigan. My family and the Walimaki's were the only two white families in a very large ghetto cut off from one end by a freeway and the other by railroad tracks.

Every person I grew up with are either dead or in prison or in and out of prison. All my friends growing up couldn't swim very good in the community pool.

Unless you have grown up in the hood you will never fathom the hood.

[edit on 4-9-2010 by LoneGunMan]

They dont like water and cant swim and they also dont like cold weather. Sounds like a personal problem to me.

reply to post by Aggie Man


I have lived in N.C. and Ga. and I have never heard that the black race had denser bones which caused them to not be able to swim.
I am 70 and I know I would have heard that some time in my life if it had circulated around.
Maybe dense bones was the reason I never learned to swim well and I grew up on a large river just below my parents house.


[edit on 9/4/2010 by moonwize]

reply to post by moonwize


I posted a scientific article to back up the fact that blacks have more bone density than whites. Please read the whole thread before posting. Just because you've never heard something doesn't mean it isn't true, never happened or doesn't exist. Thank you.



[edit on 4-9-2010 by kimish]

reply to post by simonecharisse


Well where I'm from it's actually the other way around.
second line.

the issue was was an item of investigation in holland by TNO labs
and the outcome was that the floating capabilities were less than by the
caucasian ras...
thats why you see very rare dark swimmers in competition games

Here is a dude that I would want to take swimming lessons from.

This is insane, on only a breath, this guy swims down 58m and then 30m through an arch, and back up 58m.

reply to post by kimish


Thank you..And I did read it, good article. Just saying I had never heard of it before and did you before you researched it. And just stating that denser bones could be the reason I never learned to swim well, since I did grow up on a RIVER!!!!!

When I went through USMC boot and was in the swim qual part of training, all of the black guys from the different platoons had to wait by the site of the pool to get swimming lessons...

Some stereotype, huh?

I do think this is much ado about nothing.

It's the hair. African American hair is not "wash and go" like White's.
It has to have particular care, which can be very time-consuming.

They know if they get in the water, when they get out, they will spend the next few hours working on their hair. Children will get in the pool at my house when they visit, but not the adults.

Reason given.

So, it becomes a generational thing. Parents don't want to take you swimming because the aftermath is too much trouble, so the kids never learn.
Then they don't take their kids, because they don't know how.
Nobody wants to wear a swim cap because they are ugly.

It's not that complicated. And what's up with all this bone density stuff?
The biological difference is the skin color and hair texture. Get a grip.
There are differences in diet which make some diseases more prevalent among African Americans, such as hypertension. Bone density varies among individuals, largely due to diet. Sometimes I think my bones are styrofoam. Poor eating habits.

Otherwise, it's all the same for goodness sake.


[edit on 9/4/2010 by ladyinwaiting]

reply to post by ladyinwaiting


Well they could shave there Hair off, and then represent there Country in the world Championships, but alas you never see a Black Medal wining Swimmer in the History of the Games!

reply to post by MrSmith


I agree with Mr.Smith here.. I really doubt this is a black or white thing.. Nothing racial about this.. Yet its always turned into something racial...

Swimming is a skill that needs to be learned.. White,brown, yellow whatever color your skin is.. Until you learn how to swim, you run the chance of drowning due to the lack of skill..

As a child, my uncle lived on a lake.. I learned how to swim.. I was taught how to swim.. Many children do not get this chance to learn how to swim..

I personally do not belive this is a black thing, not being able to swim..
Nope I wont accept that, nor would I ever accept that line of thinking..

Its a learning thing.. Once you learn how to swim.. No matter what color you are, you know how to swim...

reply to post by zysin5


I dont think anyone is playing the Racial Card here, its very interesting because the Chinese have great Swimmers Male an Female as do most European and far East Countrys
it seems to me that the Black Races just dont do Swimming!

reply to post by MrSmith

Plus, its typical here to enroll your children in swimming lessons when they are very young. Again, lucky enough to afford it.

LOL

Are you serious? "Lucky enough to afford it"?????????

COME ON!

I don't personally know a single person in my inner circle that has ever paid for swimming lessons...yet we all know how.

You don't need to PAY to learn how to swim.



And saying that black people are too poor to pay is just even more laughable IMO.

As a past competitor who now watches the big meets I noticed something, almost all the pro's are white. All the stars the kids look up to are white.

As much as I disagree with the race having anything to do with it, in a country where race is a big deal to many the kids may find role models who they look up to and wanna be. If they are looking for a black hero of the sport swimming aint the goa.

The kids probably learn through subtle programming messages from society and t.v that "back men can jump and are great at basketball" just as they may also pick up the message that "blacks cant swim" and this article is just one such message telling them that they cant swim.

And you tend to get of people what you expect of them.

"Expect people to be better than they are; it helps them to become better" - Merry Browne


Black people physically should be good swimmers..... the apparent limitations are all in the mind.

[edit on 4-9-2010 by polarwarrior]

My kid swam Jr. Olympics at age 5. So we were very much into swimming.

Yes - there were black kids on our swim team and others - - and we also swam against kids from all over So CA.

This was about 30 years ago. The coach was studying Sports Biomechanics/Kinesiology. Basically Sport Science.

High level sports are very scientific today. (Follow the money - of course)

So - Yes - - - body structure and amount of red/white fibers definitely is a factor in ability for specific sports.

But I don't think there is any reason the average kid today - - would not have the opportunity to learn to swim.

In my family swimming was a priority.