Olympic swimmer, BREC leading effort to help Black children learn how to swim

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - According to a recent study by the USA Swimming Foundation, 64% of Black children in the United States cannot swim.

A separate study done by the CDC also found that Black people between the ages of 5 to 19-years-old were five times more likely to drown in a swimming pool compared to their white peers.

So, what’s being done to address this problem?

The Recreation and Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge (BREC), alongside Olympic gold medalist Cullen Jones, is leading the effort.

“I had humble beginnings before I got into swimming. It wasn’t always these gold medals,” said Jones.

Jones, a four-time Olympic medalist, is the first African American swimmer to hold a world record.

However, before becoming one of the best in the world, Jones almost drowned at a water park when he was 5. Jones is now on a mission to teach kids across the country how to swim, especially minority children.

Experts have said that systemic racism and segregation from the Jim Crow era is a big contributing factor behind the disparity, which has prevented generations of families from learning how to swim.

“64% of Black Americans don’t know how to swim, and that’s not because we don’t have pools. We have pools. It’s because we’re telling ourselves as a culture, this is something we don’t do,” said Jones.

Jones joined swimmers at City-Brooks Pool and taught free lessons to dozens of kids.

Jones’ efforts also come on the heels on the anniversary of the historic 1963 Baton Rouge swim-in, where a group of Black teenagers protested segregation laws at a public pool.

BREC Superintendent Corey Wilson said it’s important we remember that story as the city continues to create more opportunities for kids today.

“We just want to remove as many barriers as possible to provide kids with access to learn how to swim because it is literally a lifesaver,” said Wilson.

Cullen has no particular ties to Baton Rouge. It was just his passion that led him here to teach kids this lifesaving tool.

“When I see a kid go in the pool for the first time, going under water, taking their first strokes, floating for the first time, it reinvigorates why I do this,” said Jones.

To register for the BREC’s Largest Swim Lesson at Liberty Lagoon, click here.

To register for the BREC-SELA community swim lessons at City-Brooks, click here.

Kids and adults can sign up.

Click here to report a typo.