Community Swimming Program for Black Youth Improves Skills, Confidence, and a Sense of Belonging

Black youth in the United States face a serious and well-documented public safety issue when it comes to water. Multiple national datasets have shown that Black children and adolescents experience fatal drowning at rates up to five times higher than their white peers. These disparities are not accidental or random. They are closely linked to historical segregation, underinvestment in public pools, limited access to swim lessons, and long-standing structural barriers that have prevented many Black families from gaining consistent exposure to aquatic spaces.

Against this backdrop, a community-based summer swimming program in Evanston, Illinois has produced encouraging results. According to a recent evaluation study published in the International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education, the program significantly improved swimming skills among Black children while also creating something just as important: a strong sense of belonging in the water.

Why Swimming Access Matters for Black Youth

Swimming is often framed as a recreational activity, but public health experts increasingly emphasize that it is a life-saving skill. Children who lack basic water competence are far more vulnerable around pools, lakes, rivers, and beaches. For Black youth, the risks are compounded by systemic factors such as fewer community pools, higher pool closures in historically Black neighborhoods, and limited availability of affordable lessons.

Many Black children also miss out on early swim instruction. By the time they reach middle childhood, the gap in skills can feel intimidating, making it less likely they will seek lessons later. This Evanston-based program directly addressed that gap by focusing on children ages 8 to 10, specifically those entering third through fifth grades.

How the Evanston Swimming Program Was Designed

The program was offered as a three-week summer initiative, with participants attending eight sessions, each lasting 60 minutes. The structure was intentionally short but intensive, allowing children to build skills quickly without overwhelming them.

The program ran over two consecutive summers, in 2023 and 2024, and served a total of 64 Black youth. In 2023, 38 children completed all three weeks, while 36 children completed the program in 2024. Nearly all participants finished the full session, which is notable for a voluntary summer program.

A key feature of the program was its intentional cultural design. Children learned alongside peers who shared similar racial backgrounds, an approach that helped counter the sense of isolation many Black swimmers report in predominantly white aquatic spaces.

Measurable Improvements in Swimming Skills

The evaluation study found significant improvements in swimming ability among participants. These gains were measured using both objective instructor assessments and parent-reported evaluations, providing multiple perspectives on each child’s progress.

Children demonstrated stronger water confidence, better movement control, and improved ability to perform essential swim skills by the end of the program. Parents consistently reported noticeable changes, including increased comfort around water and greater willingness to participate in swimming activities.

Importantly, these improvements occurred over a relatively short time period, suggesting that well-designed, community-based programs can produce meaningful outcomes even without long-term enrollment.

The Importance of Belonging and Psychological Safety

Beyond technical swim skills, instructors and parents emphasized that one of the program’s greatest successes was the environment it created. Children were surrounded by other Black youth who were also learning, struggling, improving, and gaining confidence together.

This shared experience helped shift how participants viewed themselves in the water. Instead of feeling like outsiders or beginners who did not belong, children began to see swimming as a space where they were welcome and capable.

Instructors reported that building trust with both families and children was essential. Once that trust was established, learning accelerated. The overall culture of the program evolved from simply helping kids stay afloat to encouraging them to thrive in the water.

Strong Retention Rates Signal Program Success

Another striking outcome of the program was its high retention rate. Of all participants across both summers, only one child dropped out. Additionally, 10 children returned for a second summer, signaling sustained interest and positive experiences.

Researchers pointed to several likely reasons for this success. These included supportive instructors, consistent communication with families, and the group-based structure where participants shared the same racial identity. Historically, Black communities have often been excluded from swimming spaces, so creating a program that directly addressed that history made a measurable difference.

Community Partnerships at the Core

The swimming program was developed and evaluated in partnership with Kuumba Evanston, a community-based organization dedicated to serving families of color who have been marginalized by systemic racism. Kuumba Evanston has a long-standing mission focused on empowerment, enrichment, and access to opportunities for Black and Brown youth.

This partnership ensured that the program was not imposed from the outside, but rather built with community input and trust. That community grounding played a critical role in participation, family engagement, and long-term impact.

How the Findings Are Being Used Beyond Evanston

The research team has already shared the study’s findings with the Water Safety Task Force of Metro Chicago. This group includes organizations such as the Chicago Park District, Chicago Public Schools, Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago, the DuPage County Health Department, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

The data will also inform the development of the Water Safety Plan for the State of Illinois, potentially influencing how swimming instruction and drowning prevention strategies are designed statewide. The hope is that lessons from this local program can be scaled or adapted for other communities facing similar disparities.

Broader Context: Addressing Racial Disparities in Drowning

Nationally, drowning remains one of the leading causes of unintentional injury death among children. For Black youth, especially adolescents, the risk is significantly higher in swimming pools. Experts attribute this not to individual behavior, but to decades of unequal access and systemic exclusion.

Programs like the one in Evanston demonstrate that targeted, equity-focused interventions can begin to close these gaps. By combining skill-building with cultural safety and belonging, such initiatives address both the physical and psychological barriers to swimming.

Looking Ahead

The Evanston swimming program shows that when communities invest intentionally in Black youth, the results can be powerful. Children gain essential life skills, families build trust in aquatic spaces, and public health outcomes improve.

Swimming may start as a lesson, but its impact extends far beyond the pool. When access, inclusion, and empowerment come together, they create pathways not only to safety, but to confidence and opportunity.

Research paper: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/ijare/vol15/iss1/3