While I was at CampCaribe last month, I had a conversation with a woman that was convinced that people of color - African-Americans, in particular - have a much more difficult time treading water and swimming than their non-AA counterparts. I believe she said it had something to do with the weight of our bones. She spoke these words to me as if they were fact and not myth. She said that [her] truth was based on her own personal experience of trying to teach Caribbean men of African descent ocean lifesaving techniques and some studies that she implicity trusts. Of course, I was polite and didn't argue with her. I simply told her what my position was; she got quiet; and we started talking about something else. I sent her my data on the subject a day or so after I returned to the mainland, but I haven't heard from her yet. I'd be interested to see the data she spoke of.
In the meantime, I found this short post I wrote last year after I got back from France regarding the same subject. (After you read it, you'll get the meaning of the title of this blog post loud and clear.) I was scrolling through old blog posts and decided to pass it on here. I saw this fantastic sculpture (see above) in the window of a French artist's gallery steps away from my apartment rental in Le Marais and was pleasantly stunned to see a person of obvious African descent ready for or finishing up a swim. Looks like he can swim to me. =)
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