Outdoor Afro Offers Swim Scholarship Program To Help Close Racial Gap In Water Safety

Outdoor Afro, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to reconnecting Black communities with nature, is making waves with its mission to address a long-standing disparity in swim education. The organization has been spreading the word about their Making Waves program, which provides swimming scholarships—or “swimmerships”—to Black children, teens, and adults across the country, according to a report shared by journalist Phillip Lewis on June 24. 

The initiative aims to tackle a troubling and persistent issue: Black Americans are significantly more likely to drown than their white counterparts due to their inability to swim. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over one-third (36.8%) of Black adults say they don’t know how to swim, and 63% report never having taken a swimming lesson—both figures well above the national average.

Equally alarming, the USA Swimming Foundation reports that 64% of African American children have little to no swimming ability—despite evidence that swim lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by up to 88%, according to a 2023 CBS report. Sadly, these troubling statistics are tied to America’s history of segregation, which kept Black families from accessing public swimming pools for much of the 20th century.

To close the gap, Outdoor Afro is teaming up with their exclusive partners, programs like Black People Will Swim in New York and Foss Swim School in Minnesota, to provide up to $200 per individual or $400 per family to cover the cost of beginner swimming lessons.

“Our Making Waves program isn’t just about learning to swim. It’s about reclaiming our relationship with water—together,” the organization stated in an Instagram post shared June 25.

Founded in Oakland, California, in 2009 by speaker and public lands champion Rue Mapp, Outdoor Afro has since grown into the nation’s leading network focused on Black leadership in outdoor recreation. Since launching Making Waves in 2019, the organization has awarded more than 3,500 swim scholarships. In 2025, it hopes to fund lessons for 2,000 more Black children and caregivers, Lewis noted. 

The critical scholarship program comes at an urgent time. Since 2019, drowning deaths have risen sharply in recent years, with over 4,500 lives lost annually from 2020 to 2022, an increase of more than 500 deaths per year, the CDC noted. Black Americans, along with American Indian and Alaska Native populations, experience the highest drowning rates of any racial group.

Outdoor Afro’s approach is more than just access; it’s about creating generational change and giving Black families the skills they need to thrive in the water. 

For more information or to apply for a swim scholarship, visit OutdoorAfro.com.

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