One group is trying to increase the confidence of Black children in and around water by teaching swim lessons throughout the entirety of the summer.
100 Black Men of Jackson bought their swim facility in the early 1990s and upgraded the pool, did some repairs, and put the pool back in service to become an opportunity to teach children how to swim.
The organization is part of a national organization that focuses on mentoring young Black males who may not have a male figure in their life. They work with nine of the Jackson Public Schools through their mentorship program and follow the boys from third grade through graduation – even giving them scholarships to go to college. However, in the summer, they spend their time at their facility in North Jackson on Highland Drive.
“A lot of our kids suffer from not knowing how to swim,” Aquatics Director Barnett Taylor said. “The mortality of Black teenagers in and around water is very, very high because our kids just don’t have that background.”
This aquatics program is an opportunity for the men to provide a service to the community for kids ages eight to 18. The goal is to teach water safety and teach the kids how to swim. They have also had the opportunity to help kids pursue the career they want through the swim lessons.
“We have Black high school kids that graduate from high school that are going to military academies and, for the entrance requirements, are required to swim efficiently,” Taylor said. “Every summer, we usually have some high school grads come to us and ask us to help them pass their swimming fitness test. That is always very exciting. We have sent several youths off to military academy.”
These kids aren’t the only ones taking their swim lessons and putting them to great use.
“A couple years ago, I had a young lady that had been swimming with us for a couple years, and she lived in an apartment complex and apparently her little sister and some other kids got in the deep end of the pool and got in trouble,” Taylor said. “She was actually credited with saving her little sister from drowning.”
The swim lessons wrapped up the last week of July having helped somewhere between 400 and 500 kids with their swimming skills throughout the summer. They hosted six classes per day, four days a week from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Each session lasts for two weeks. Every class has room for 15 kids, although they do go over that sometimes, which makes for about 90 kids in lessons each day. They also helped some other kids with their coaching skills.
“We did something really exciting this year,” Taylor said. “The Sunkist Swim Team and their coach partnered with us this year, and members of the Sunkist Swim Team are actually the instructors in the water. The response is really, really good. The kids enjoy those students and young people who are coaches, and the coaches have an enjoyable experience working with Black kids.”
While the lessons are for those ages eight to 18, this year Taylor allowed one five-year-old who has previously taken private lessons to participate, which may allow younger kids to join in the future. Taylor said they also have kids that come year after year to keep improving and their parents make it a priority.
“It is a great activity, and I’m sitting here looking at five parent groups sitting here waiting for their kids to come in,” Taylor said. “They are looking out the window to see how they’re progressing. I have a bunch of happy parents and grandparents.”
At the end of their eight days of lessons, the kids take a test where they go off the diving board and swim to the side of the pool as a final exam.
“It is a success because kids are mainly becoming confident in and around water,” Taylor said. “The African American community suffers the most drownings because our kids don’t get many opportunities to learn how to swim. It is hard to find where they can take lessons.”
The aquatics program isn’t just about learning how to swim but also water safety, which they spend the entire first day of the sessions focusing on.
“We do emphasize water safety,” Taylor said. “We show how to wear a life preserver and what it feels like to wear a life vest in the water. Also, how to save someone from the side of the pool without jumping in by throwing them a life line or tube that even a small child could pull an adult to the side and not get pulled in themselves. We also do a couple more things along those lines.”
To get involved with the organization or find out more about the swim lessons that will be put on next summer as well, visit their website at https://100blackmenjackson.org or call 601-366-8301.
