Morning Swim Show: Kevin Dawson’s Book on History of Africans in Swimming

PHOENIX, Arizona, February 19. PROFESSOR and author Kevin Dawson joins today's edition of The Morning Swim Show to discuss his upcoming book detailing the rich history of Africans and African-Americans in swimming.

Dawson, who teaches African history at the University of Las Vegas-Nevada, is in the middle of writing a book that chronicles the connection Africans had to swimming, as early as the 1400s, when they would swim in rivers to fish, and for recreation. When European and American slave traders visited Africa in the 1800s, they captured slaves who were great swimmers. Though Africans had a great love of swimming, American society began to instill a fear of the water on African-Americans in the days after slavery was abolished. Dawson talks more about why African-Americans suddenly feared the pool, leading to the current epidemic of high drowning rates among African-Americans. Be sure to visit SwimmingWorld.TV for more video interviews!

To purchase a copy of “The African Swimming Tradition” from the International Swimming Hall of Fame, click here.

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