HOUSTON – The drowning of six black teenagers near Shreveport, Louisiana, this week is drawing more attention to an unsettling disparity.
Minority kids are more likely to drown than their white peers, according to a study released last spring by the sport’s governing body USA Swimming
The report found that 69 percent of black children have little or no swimming ability, compared to 41.8 percent of white children. African-Americans drown at a rate 20 percent higher than whites, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"[That’s] mostly because there's lack of access to swimming pools near their homes,” said Alicia Alaniz, a YMCA spokesperson. “The cost of swimming lessons [is also a factor] and this idea that swimming is simply recreation for white children. That's not true."
The YMCA of Greater Houston invites all children to attend swimming lessons, but the organization is reaching out specifically to lower-income neighborhoods by offering free swimming lessons through a program called “Water Wise.”
