I just read an important article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel online -- it expands on a subject that Abacab wrote about in early May.
Nearly 6 in 10 African-American and Hispanic/Latino children are unable to swim, nearly twice as many as their Caucasian counterparts.
In ethnically diverse communities, the youth drowning rate is more than double the national average.
According to the article, 9 people drown each day in the U.S. Milwaukee has seen its share of tragedies in the past several years; from 2004-2007, "five out of the six children who drowned in Milwaukee County were African-American."
A USA Swimming survey found that while 31% of white children lack swimming skills, 58% of African-American and 56% of Hispanic children lack such skills. If 31% is too high, 56-58% is simply unacceptable.
Several reasons combine to put minorities at higher risk. Income is a factor:
As family income increased, so did respondents' swimming ability, with 67% of parents of non-swimmers reporting an annual household income of less than $49,000. . . Only 29% of parents of swimmers reported an income of less than that.
Relatedly, parental swimming habits are another indicator of risk.
At least 65% of parents with non-swimming children couldn't swim themselves.
Children from non-swimming households are eight times more likely to be at risk of drowning. While about a third of white children from non-swimming families go on to learn to swim, fewer than 1 in 10 children in non-swimming African-American families do.
The YMCA has "expanded its community outreach" in order to attract minority students to its low-cost swimming lessons.
This diarist is not a great swimmer, but I know how to swim and I have fond summer memories of the pool/lake as a kid. How sad and worrisome that many children won't make these summer memories -- and may be very much at risk as a result.