When he was five or six years old, Tyree Powell remembers being afraid to open the front doors to the building where he took swimming lessons. Every time he smelled the first whiff of chlorine, he would start crying on the inside and say, "Oh...
June 24, 2021, started as a regular day for Kamilah Cunningham when she accompanied her daughter and niece to the community pool in South Euclid, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. An afternoon enjoying the water and sunny views turned into something unexpected when her daughter and...
When the going gets tough the tough start DOING! The past 3 months have literally turned the world upside down. When many wondered how to react and where to begin, several swim teams stood up, took a knee, and swam to make their voices heard. Black...
BKS' commitment to changing the competitive swim space has led us to create The Gorée Project. This special first-of-its-kind leadership initiative is BKS' response to exclusionary practices. It's our method of creating a monumental, trans-continental, unifying project designed to bring the African diaspora into focus...
Seventeen days after George Floyd was killed by police officers the world is still protesting. They are protesting against governments that allow security forces to harm and kill innocent Black men, women, and children. We support their efforts. The recent lackluster statement by USA Swimming regarding...
Black Kids Swim's only priority is creating and protecting excellence in Black children. We do this by fearlessly educating our children about the centuries long history of violence towards innocent African Americans, lovingly inspiring our children with infinite accounts of Black excellence, and tirelessly creating opportunities...
Determination and perseverance are two distinct qualities that describe Maritza McClendon not only as a swimmer but as a human being. Despite the naysayers and critics, Maritza McClendon was destined to come out on top as a competitive swimmer and make history as the first African...
By: Brianna Rhodes The 34th Black History Invitational Swim Meet (BHISM) will take place at the Takoma Aquatic Center from Feb. 14th through Feb. 16th in Washington, D.C. Sponsored by D.C Parks and Recreation, BHISM is held every year during Black History Month to recognize the significant...
The recent events involving high school swimmer Breckynn Willis and official Jill Blackstone should serve as an alarm clock to the world of competitive swimming; it is time to prepare for the inevitable diversification of the sport. As the majority white world of competitive swimming...
All of the recent debate over Disney's casting of the gorgeous and talented Halle Bailey as the new Ariel in the live action The Little Mermaid led Black Kids Swim to ask the question: Where do Mermaids really come from? Before Ariel graced our screens in 1989,...
Thirty-three years ago in February, two swim teams from D.C. Parks and Recreation and Baltimore City competed in a dual meet as a Black History event. Both teams were predominantly Black. Although it was just a small local meet, word spread quickly about a special...
It's a New Year and we are excited to announce a ton of new events, offerings, and products created especially for the Black Kids Swim community! The 2019 BKS Challenge! To permanently change the relationship between the Black community and the water - we have to make...
