If you're wondering who is dominating the world of swimming, you can stop.  Simone Manuel is breaking records all over the place, and she's just getting started. More importantly, she is blazing a trail for many young Black swimmers who want to be just like...
The National Black Heritage Championship Swim Meet in North Carolina is the Black swim community's family reunion! The meet, founded and hosted by the North Carolina Aquablazers Swim Team, celebrates the success of African American swimmers and encourages the development of tomorrow's elite Black swimmers.  The National...
In 1971, Jim Ellis founded an African-American swim team called PDR. The initials stood for both Philadelphia Department of Recreation, and also Pride Determination Resilience. His story is chronicled in the feature film 'Pride.' Â In 2007, Jim Ellis received the Presidential Honor Award from the...
The Red Cross teaches millions of Americans how to swim. Yet, today, 70 percent of African Americans lack basic swimming skills. Additionally, the Red Cross’s Centennial Campaign, charged with training 50,000 new swimmers in areas with some of the nation’s highest drowning rates, does not...
Robert Mangan is a successful African-American swimmer who swims for Ithica High School's Ithica Little Reds. His swim coach told him about Black Kids Swim and he immediately reached out to us to say "Thank you for sharing the site with the public and supporting African-American...
As a swim mom I spend most of my pool time in the stands or on deck – I rarely get in the pool. And I don't think I'm alone in this. I've met a surprising number of swim parents, especially in the Black community,...
[caption id="attachment_1936" align="alignleft" width="136"] Andre Wilson of the Neon Swim Club in Ohio[/caption] Andre Wilson is a 17 year old senior from Brunswick High School and he swims for the Neon Swim Club in Ohio. Andre first started to swim in the 9th grade to improve...
Mackenzie Stacker is 11 years old and lives in O’Fallon Illinois.  She started swimming competitively at the age of 8 after taking swimming lessons at age six.  She competes for TWO local teams year round; the Yosi Seals and the O’Fallon Breakers. Mackenzie consistently  finishes...
We want to see more Black swimmers. We want more Black people to have the life-saving skill of swimming, and to have access to the educational and professional opportunities available through competitive swimming. We believe that if we can grow the Black Kids Swim community we...
Many Black swim parents worry that if their child swims in in-door pools during the winter, as year-round swim clubs do, they will get sick. However, the coaching and consistent training provided by a year-round swim club is necessary for young swimmers who want to...
On November 20, 2015 we started Black Kids Swim with a website and a Facebook page. Â We interviewed swim parents, coaches and cosmetologists (because hair care is a huge issue for Black swimmers!) and anyone who would talk to us. Â We were in search of...
Meet Jourie Wilson a 12 year old swimmer for the Highland Hurricanes in Highland Indiana. Jourie began swimming competitively at the age of 4. Since then, she has won the Indiana State Championship FIVE TIMES. Jourie is listed among the top 16 swimmers in the United...
