Olympian, swim groups look to turn the tide on the country's racial gap in drowning

ABC News

(NEW YORK) — For generations, Black Americans have grappled with a troubling reality when it comes to swimming.

Black Americans drown at a rate 50 percent higher than their white counterparts, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It’s a grim statistic rooted in systemic racism that’s led to a persistent lack of access to pools and swim classes for Black children, according to experts.

Anthony Patterson, the president of the Pennsylvania-based nonprofit Nile Swim Club, said the lingering problem is a civil rights issue.

“I think that it’s a lack of access,” Anthony Patterson, the president of the