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A recent study shows that drowning deaths among Black children in Florida were among the highest in the nation.
According to a new 50-state analysis by Schiller Kessler Group, Florida recorded 105 drowning deaths, the highest number of any state. The report found that across all ages, Black Americans drowned at 1.5 times the rate of white Americans.
Among children, the gap widens with age. Black children ages 5 to 9 drowned at 2.6 times the rate of white children, while Black children ages 10 to 14 drowned at 3.6 times the rate of white children.
In swimming pools, Black children ages 10 to 14 drown at 7.6 times the rate of white children in the same age group. The data is based on information collected from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On July 1, Florida expanded its Swimming Lesson Voucher Program, which provides free lessons to qualifying families earning no more than 200% of the federal poverty level.
Children ages 1 through 7 are now eligible. Previously, the program served children aged 4 and younger. However, eligibility still ends several years before children reach the 10-to-14 age group, where drowning incidents are higher.
In Tampa Bay, between 2013-2025, the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office reported 128 drowning deaths of children ages 6 and up, and a total of 12 drownings last year.
The report raises questions about the factors and access Black families may face that contribute to the high drowning deaths.
Financial factor
One primary factor is financial. In Florida, the average range for lessons is $76 to $106 and families could pay up to $88 per lesson or an average of $490 for a series of lessons, according to a report by InstaSwim USA.
Jennifer McFall is the current senior director of health and wellness initiatives at The Skills Center in East Tampa. She has all four of her children enrolled in swimming classes.
“Any chance we can get them in swim lessons or get them in a pool, we do,” McFall said.
On average, McFall said, it could cost her family $600 a week for lessons so she tries to find more affordable options.
Cultural factors
Another factor is culture. Historically, Black Americans were excluded from segregated public pools and beaches, contributing to lower swimming participation and fewer opportunities for parents to pass swimming skills to their children.
“White families probably do more in the water than Black families depending on the geography and then resources,” McFall said. “You don’t really have the programming necessary for kids in those neighborhoods to be able to learn how to swim, to learn water safety.”
McFall, who is a former certified lifeguard coach, grew up in an area where there was one city pool and swimming was a recreational sport for all the kids in the neighborhood. The lessons were free for the kids over the summer.
“We were at the pool every day, we had great instructors,” McFall recalls. “They made it fun, so that was part of our culture.”
Fear of water
There’s another factor that has heavy historical context for Black people when it comes to swimming: Fear.
“I don’t know if it's bad experiences or just a lack of knowledge or lack of exposure,” McFall said. “But I think the more exposure you[parents] can open their [kids] minds to say and say ‘OK, water safety is important, so if this is available for my kid, I can at least get them to where they’re comfortable and they know what to do like how to help a friend if a friend falls in the water, they know how to throw something out there and not jump in themselves.”
Growing up, Brittany Scriven says her family did not have access to a pool, and her mother had a fear of water she passed on to Scriven and her brothers. Although she is unable to swim herself, she’s had her 5-year-old son in swimming lessons since he was 11 months old.
“The neighborhood I used to live in had about seven or eight lakes in it,” says Scriven. “So, I didn't want him to get out and wander into a lake and something tragic happens.
Inspired by her son’s progress, Scriven says she is thinking about taking adult lessons.
“At this point, I think it’s a basic life skill…we’re in Florida, we’re around water, a lot of activities are focused on water. More and more people have swimming pools in their backyards.”
Kymbriell Finch is a water safety advocate and the founder and creative director of the non-profit Courageous Leap Inc. studies epigenetics, which is the study of how behaviors and environments can impact how genes work without alternating a person’s DNA sequence.
She was curious as to how the origins of Black people’s fear of water could be incorporated and started studying. During slavery, slave masters used drowning as a fear tactic and control. One infamous incident was the Zong massacre of 1781 in which the crew of a British slave ship threw 132 slaves overboard into the Atlantic. The massacre is documented in a book titled The Zong: A Massacre, the Law and the End of Slavery by James Walvin.
“That fear of drowning, it’s been embedded in us from such an early stage because it was literally used as punishment when we weren’t listening to our captors,” Finch said.
Although 98% of Finch’s students are African American, most of them are not exposed until they are over the age of 5. Meanwhile, white students started taking lessons as early as 6 months old.
“Their parents get them into the water as soon as possible; but because of that fear, we don’t put our children in there until they’re going off to school, they’re going off to different summer camps. How we were raised, where we were raised all of that plays a part in our relationship with water,” Finch said.
Finch, who believes water is a universal language that everyone should have access to, regardless of age, income or background, makes it part of her mission to target Black and brown communities. Her organization is dedicated to helping kids overcome the fear of water through swim lessons and life skills.
“I know the challenges that Black people face when it comes to building a trusting relationship with water, so I have taken on the responsibility of prioritizing those people,” Finch said. “A lot of work needs to be done in the Black community to get us caught up and where we are comfortable and confident in our skills to even take interest in these things.”
Scholarships and resources
Despite the disparities, there are several organizations dedicated to water safety for kids. The Children’s Board of Hillsborough County offers free swim lessons through vouchers with the YMCA and grants with Water Smart Tots.
The scholarships and grants are on a first-come, first-serve basis. Since 2014, the board has been the sole funder of the Child Safety Campaign in which they partner with organizations to provide resources and awareness on child drownings as well as infant safe sleep and shaking baby syndrome.
Parents are given supplies such as water watcher whistles.
“We encourage parents not to be distracted while their children are in water,” says Dexter Lewis, the Director of Public Relations for the Children’s Board of Hillsborough County. “Drowning happens silently; it can happen in as little as one second.”
However, to better promote water safety as a necessary survival skill and ease financial burdens, McFall says that should start with local lawmakers. One idea she mentioned that she would like to see in the future is a collaborative initiative between public inner-city schools and the city’s parks and recreation.
“We have plenty of pools in the cities, and if we can connect the schools to parks and recreation and offer something like that, that would be amazing, and I think more people would take advantage of it,” McFall said.
McFall said a week of water safety would be beneficial for kids.
“... Then swim lessons can spin off of that. But water safety in general doesn’t take a lot … if they fall in to grab the wall and walk on the wall, or if they fall in and it's shallow and it’s kind of over their heads, they can hop to safety,” McFall said.
Finch emphasized the importance of incorporating more water-based activities in Black communities as a way to not only decrease the number of tragedies, but to also build confidence in the water.
“When we swim, when we connect with water, it's more than just a physical exercise,” Finch said. “It’s literally a spiritual experience, and it's healing when we get into the water…it heals us mentally, emotionally and spiritually as well. I think when more Black people begin to incorporate safe and confident practices of being around the water, they’ll start to see that representation in themselves and how they interact with each other.”