Since 2012, historically black sorority Sigma Gamma Rho has taught thousands of African-Americans how to swim, and hopes to teach many more.
It all started after the 93-year-old sorority conducted a survey of 3,200 black women in its organization. The goal of the study was to figure out why so many black women choose not to swim. The surprising results were due to a variety of factors such as access, cost, and several cultural factors.
Under the leadership of then international president Joann Loveless, Sigma Gamma Rho partnered with USA Swimming as part of a national initiative to teach more black children to swim and to decrease drowning rates among African-Americans.
Since the announcement, the partnership, named for the year the sorority was founded, has led to hundreds of free lessons, clinics, programming and community events that have helped thousands learn how to swim. The Swim 1922 Regional Contest was also created, a program intended to increase participation within regional chapters of the sorority. In 2015, Sigma Gamma Rho and USA Swimming extended their partnership after a successful three-year run, adding university campus events and K-12 workshops to the platform. “Sigma Gamma Rho has embraced the objectives to make this one of the most impactful partnerships we’ve done at USA Swimming,” USA Swimming executive director Chuck Wielgus said at the time.
Maritza McClendon, one of Sigma Gamma Rho’s most famous alumni, has also been deeply involved in the ongoing swim initiative. McClendon made history in 2004 by becoming the first African-American woman to win silver in the 400-meter freestyle relay at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.
This week swimmers Simone Manuel and Lia Neal made history at the Olympics in Rio as two African-American swimmers who mark the first time more than one black woman has qualified for the U.S. Swim Team. Sigma Gamma Rho hopes to one day sponsor a promising young athlete.
