BEAUMONT, Texas — An alarming trend shows Black children are more likely to drown in pools than their counterparts.
One local swim instructor is urging Black children to learn how to swim.
He calls it a life-saving skill.
In the evenings, D’Angelo Thibodeaux spends his time by the water giving swimming lessons to Black kids. His goal is to prevent them from drowning.
“Some people believe that Black kids couldn't swim,” Thibodeaux said.
Thibodeaux said it's not just a stereotype; it's history.
“We do understand that in our history as black so here in America, we weren't always privileged to work or to swim in community pools,” Thibodeaux said.
It's an inherent fear of water that plays a role in why Black children swim at lower rates but drown more than any other group, according to experts.
“It got passed on from generation to generation,” Thibodeaux said. “So you have a sizable amount of people that, like people said, didn't show too much interest in teaching their kids how to swim or learning to swim themselves.”
Now, Thibodeaux pushes to break generational curses through the waters.
“I try to make sure that at least the last three generations including the child knows how to swim,” Thibodeaux said. “Does your grandmother know how to swim? Does the parent know how to swim?”
It's not just race that will determine black children's ability to know how to swim, but so will their class.
“Well, one of the things that I've come to find out is not a lot of black kids have access to swim lessons like some other ethnicities as far as their parents being able to afford them,” Thibodeaux said.
When given the opportunity black children want to swim just like the next kid. But they aren't always given the skills.
“I have seen more Black kids come in not knowing how to swim, but they come to the pools every single year,” Thibodeaux said. “And so what they're doing is, they're kind of just moving through the water, but not knowing the proper way how to swim or how to navigate to the water.”
According to USA Swimming Foundation, 64% of Black children can't swim, compared to 45% of Hispanic children and 40% of white children.
“And those numbers are insanely accurate,” Thibodeaux said.
Black people between the ages of 5 and 19 drowned at rates 5.5 times higher than their white counterparts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“So it's really important especially in the African American community for us to break the stigma, to learn how to swim and then promote swimming for all the generations to follow,” Thibodeaux said.
Thibodeaux encourages Black households to learn water safety year around instead of two months out of the year.
If you're interested in taking Thibodeaux's swimming lessons head over to HealingWatersAquatics.com.