Posted on 08/17/2006 7:21:24 PM PDT by ChessMan
L.A. Effort Narrows Swimming's Racial Gap
Day to Day, July 3, 2006 · Statistics show that black children are more than twice as likely to drown than their white peers. But at the John Argue Swim Stadium in Los Angeles -- built for the 1984 Summer Olympics -- an effort is under way to teach all children how to swim.
Andre Brent oversees the pools at the stadium, located in Exposition Park, just south of downtown L.A. His job is to turn splashers into swimmers, and he's firm with youngsters who may not grasp all the dangers at hand.
"They think they're superman," he says. "And they're not."
In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control, accidental drowning is the second-leading cause of death for children from 1-14. And black children run the highest risk of all.
To narrow the racial gap in swimming, the L.A.-based Amateur Athletic Foundation gives grants to swim facilities in Southern California.
Especially in a city full of pools, "economics should not be a barrier to learning to swim," says Patrick Escobar, the foundation's vice president.
During the school year, the foundation's grants provide money help transport children to pools for lessons. And they help public pools give low-cost or free lessons in the summer. Escobar says the foundation is providing the training for which public schools no longer have the resources.
He's also a member of USA Swimming's diversity task force. As such, he sees the foundation's initiative creating new options for children of color. Many colleges and universities -- especially in California -- offer athletic scholarships for water sports.
Kalif Muhammad, 11, learned how to swim in the Exposition Park program. Now he scuba dives and plays competitive water polo. He's also a junior lifeguard.
Programs such as the one at Exposition Park might turn out thousands-more Kalifs, reducing drownings in summers to come... and narrowing swimming's racial gap, one child at a time.
Ahhhh, grants. Always money for something somewhere. Where can I sign up???
Maybe Tramm Hudson had read this article
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1685502/posts
I guess we could drown more white kids........
To me the shame of it is that they bring race into it. Sure, poorer kids won't have the same access to pools. But there is a difference between basing a program on race and on income - so should poor white kids just suffer so that we can get the number of drownings to balance out??
"But at the John Argue Swim Stadium in Los Angeles -- built for the 1984 Summer Olympics"
what a lie!
That pool and stadiium was built for the Olympics in the 1930s.
It had to be modified for the 84 Olympics because it was 7 inches shorter on one side than on the other.
I had the contract to refurbish the stadium at the same time that they removed and replaced one end of the pool.
So now water is racist. Next up, we'll have to investigate if wind blows too hard on certain minorities.
How about a goverment program to teach white people to play basketball? The disparity in the NBA is proof enough of discrimination.
This is going to be a likely vector for a polio epidemic to hit the poorest children in LA. Or other transmissable diseases.
The program sounds good from a utilitarian standpoint, existing infrastructure put to use to keep kids off the streets, plus building a lifestyle that includes exercising.
My family, growing up, was very poor. In Mississippi, no less. We all loved the water and I could swim like a fish by the time I was five. Seems to me that swimming is a survival skill, albeit an enjoyable one... not an elite hobby for the rich whities.
It is indeed a shame.
"I guess we could drown more white kids........"
Well--er, of course not intentionally but...if we reduced the excessive amount of lifeguards commonly found at pools for white kids, yes the problem might be solved.
Exactly! This is very reminiscent of dozens of articles in my local paper about "the gap" between races in school achievement scores. I always come away with the impression that the Charlotte Observer would be just as happy to see white scores decrease as they would to see black scores increase. Just as long as "the gap" is closed.
Or to teach white boys how to get around Affirmative Action when they enter the workforce.
"How about a goverment program to teach white people to play basketball?"
I could use some dance lessons too. Hey, they worked for Napoleon Dynamite. ;)
Hey, let's not bring common sense into this, there are "ethnic" feelings and grant money involved.
Bush's fault.
ROFL. Brevity is the soul of wit, you owe me a monitor.
NPR is suggesting that black children are not as likely to be good swimmers as white children? Has NPR never heard of Al Campanis?
ROFL. Brevity is the soul of wit, you owe me a monitor.
Back to reality, someone transported said black non-swimmers to a natural or manmade reservoir containing water.
Now, who is responsible societal inequities or the continuing and quite frankly what should be an embarassing propensity for the black populace to shift blame onto the government or whites?
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