African American drowning statistics

This morning while watching breakfast news, there was a story and some alarming statistics on children drowning, especially African American drowning statistics.

Every day, about ten people die from unintentional drowning. Of these, two are children aged 14 or younger. Drowning ranks fifth among the leading causes of unintentional injury death in the United States.
Source: CDC

Now every summer this seems to be a recurring theme. I think this past weekend at least four to five people drowned, including a father and son, tragic indeed especially after the father dove in to save his son and quickly also perished. Anyway so this story stemmed from two sources, a report out from the CDC and one of these charities trying to get more “ethic” children swimming.
Being from an island I kinda get why more blacks can’t swim, many people in Barbados just can’t swim, but many of these same people do not mess with the water at all, even if they do go to the beach, at the most they will dip their feet and that’s it, their place is on the sand, gazing at the water and other fantastic scenary. Now being from St George, which is one of the central parishes of Barbados, there is a running joke among Bajans that we can’t swim since we are land locked. Fortunately for me, I learn to swim at an early age, thanks to sea scouts, sadistic bastards used to toss you in, sink or swim, you learn rather quickly when that survival instinct kicks in. As a beach lover, knowing how to swim only comes with pure advantages, I always was at the beach, I used to skip school just to go to the beach, well until they made truant officers patrol the beach, storm trooper bastards. Anyway I enjoyed boogie boarding, body surfing etc. Truth be told I almost drowned twice in life, both times due to rip tides, both due to the tiny soup bowl on Acura beach, which had a sick drop off probably five feet offshore. Nothing like going from ankle-deep water to 15 feet in seconds.
Now back to blacks in America, I have heard ever story from Blacks don’t like their hair wet to slave owners used to scare the living hell out of slaves when it came to water in fear they would get wise and try to swim back to Africa. I think the latter had to be a joke, as no one could possibly be that stupid or both sides of the equation could they. Now I guess due to access to water, by the lack of pools, streams, lakes in the hood (like all American blacks live in the hood) there’s really no reason to learn to swim. But why would you go into water knowing full well you cannot swim? Personally I do not mess with “dead water”, despite my ability to swim, I prefer to swim in the ocean, the water has a natural buoyancy, if you get tired your can float if you have the right technique, threading water is much easier. Lake and pool water has none, you stop moving you will sink like a stone. I am guessing this is not knowledge to everyone. Now looking at the statistics, I wonder if it’s more fear mongering targeting ethnics or are the numbers skewed?

Either way, black folks learn to swim or stop messing with these damn lakes and pools, if you think you are too cool to wear a life jacket, knowing you can’t swim, consider the possibility of how cool a Black limo and casket looks.

Example of how awkward urban kids have it with water