Cityline: Swimming safely in Boston

AS SUMMER WEATHER GETS IN FULL SWING, MANY PEOPLE WILL BE BEATING THE HEAT IN POOLS AND ON LOCAL BEACHES. BUT STATISTICS FROM THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION SHOW THAT AWARENESS OF WATER SAFETY NEEDS TO LITERALLY RISE TO THE SURFACE, ACCORDING TO THEIR DATA, BLACK YOUTH BETWEEN THE AGES OF TEN AND 14 DROWN IN SWIMMING POOLS AT 7.6 TIMES THE RATE OF WHITE YOUTH IN THE SAME AGE RANGE, AND NEARLY 40% OF BLACK ADULTS SAY THEY DON’T KNOW HOW TO SWIM. WELL, JOINING US TODAY IS MARTY FULLER. SHE’S AN OUTDOORS WOMAN AND ADVOCATE FOR RACIAL EQUITY IN NATURE. AND JOSE MASSO, CHIEF OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES FOR THE CITY OF BOSTON. WELCOME TO YOU BOTH, MARTY. I WANT TO START WITH YOU. THE STATS FOR BLACK ADULTS AND KIDS WHEN IT COMES TO SWIMMING ARE SIGNIFICANT. SO I’M WONDERING IF YOU COULD TELL US JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR STORY WITH SWIMMING AND WHAT WAS THE CATALYST FOR YOU TO LEARN HOW TO SWIM? I FEEL VERY FORTUNATE THAT I, UH, FIRST WENT TO SWIMMING LESSONS WHEN I WAS TWO YEARS OLD WITH MY MOTHER, WHO WAS AROUND 36, AND ALSO LEARNING TO SWIM HERSELF. HER BROTHER, MY UNCLE, HAD DROWNED TRAGICALLY IN THE 60S, AND THAT PROMPTED HER TO SAY, MY KIDS ARE GOING TO KNOW HOW TO SWIM, EVEN THOUGH I DON’T KNOW HOW TO SWIM. MY MOTHER AND SO WE WENT TO SWIMMING LESSONS IN NEW YORK AT A COMMUNITY CENTER, AND I HAVE BEEN SWIMMING SINCE THEN. I TOOK TO IT LIKE A FISH, TOOK TO IT LIKE A FISH AS THEY SAY, RIGHT WHEN YOU’RE THAT YOUNG. I SURE DID. AND I BECAME A LIFEGUARD AND A SWIM INSTRUCTOR IN HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE, AND TO THIS DAY I STILL LOVE TO SWIM. I OPEN WATER, SWIM AT WALDEN POND. I SWIM AT THE Y IN DORCHESTER EVERY WEEK. YOU’RE IN IT. JOSE. WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH SWIMMING IN YOUR YOUNGER YEARS? SURE. SO I LEARNED PROBABLY AROUND THE SAME TIME. I CAN’T EXACTLY RECALL WHEN IT WAS. UM, BUT I KNEW AT THE AGE OF SIX MY OLDER BROTHER WAS A LIFEGUARD AT THE TIME AS WELL. SO HE WAS INSTRUMENTAL JUST BECAUSE I WANTED TO DO EVERYTHING THAT HE DID. AND JUST BE LIKE HIM AS WELL. AND SO THAT WAS REALLY JUST LIKE, I THINK THE TIPPING POINT FOR ME TO WANT TO BE ABLE TO LEARN HOW TO SWIM, UM, MY DAD AND MY MOM WAS AN ACTIVE SWIMMERS AS WELL. THE TRIPS TO PUERTO RICO THAT WE WOULD TAKE DURING THE SUMMERTIME. I LOVED SWIMMING IN THE OCEAN, SO I JUST VIVIDLY RECALL JUST ENJOYING EVERYTHING ABOUT THAT SWIMMING HAD TO OFFER. AND LIKE MARTY WAS ABLE TO BECOME A LIFEGUARD IN HIGH SCHOOL AS WELL. AND SO MY FIRST CITY OF BOSTON JOB WAS A LIFEGUARD 27 YEARS AGO. OKAY, LET’S TALK ABOUT LIFEGUARDS. IT’S THE QUINTESSENTIAL SUMMER JOB. UM, IS IT HARD TO RECRUIT PEOPLE? AND HOW DOES THAT IMPACT THE AVAILABILITY OF POOLS BEING OPEN? THIS SUMMER IN THE CITY? ABSOLUTELY. SO THE PAST TWO YEARS HAS BEEN EXTREMELY DIFFICULT NATIONWIDE. AND SO NOT ONLY HERE IN BOSTON, HOWEVER, I’M HAPPY TO SAY THAT THIS SUMMER WE ARE DOING EXTREMELY WELL WITH LIFEGUARD RECRUITMENT. OUR TEAM AT THE BOSTON CENTERS OF YOUTH AND FAMILIES HAVE DONE A PHENOMENAL JOB RECRUITING AND TRAINING LIFEGUARDS, SO WE ARE BASICALLY FULLY STAFFED WITH LIFEGUARDS AND SO NO POOL CLOSURES WILL HAPPEN BECAUSE OF LACK OF LIFEGUARDS. AND SO THAT IS GREAT. UM, WHEREAS IN PREVIOUS YEARS THAT HAS BEEN, UH, JUST A FACTOR. LET ME JUST DIG INTO A LITTLE BIT COMMUNITY SWIMMING POOLS AND BEACHES HAVE NOT ALWAYS BEEN OPEN TO EVERYONE IN THE CITY OF BOSTON. AND BOSTON, OF COURSE, HAS ITS OWN VERY MESSY HISTORY WITH SEGREGATION OF BEACHES. THERE WAS AN INCIDENT AT CARSON BEACH IN SOUTHIE IN 1975 THAT MANY JUST CAN’T FORGET. RACIALLY CHARGED BLOODY BRAWLS BROKE OUT OVER THE RIGHT TO USE THE BEACH, BRINGING HUNDREDS OF POLICE OFFICERS TO BREAK UP WHAT TURNED INTO A RACE RIOT. SO IS THERE A CONNECTION WITH THIS COUNTRY’S HISTORY OF SEGREGATION AND SEGREGATED POOLS WITH, UH, SEGREGATED POOLS AND BEACHES? AND YOU KNOW, HOW DOES THAT FACTOR INTO A LOWER PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE OF COLOR WITH THE ABILITY TO SWIM? MARTY, WE’LL START WITH YOU. ABSOLUTELY. SO I’VE DONE SOME WRITING AND REPORTING ON THIS, AND THIS IS A DIRECT LEGACY OF SEGREGATION. BLACK PEOPLE AND MANY PEOPLE OF COLOR FACED A HISTORICAL EXCLUSION FROM PUBLIC SWIMMING POOLS AND PUBLIC BEACHES IS OFTEN VIOLENT. EXCLUSION IN THE 1920S AND 30S, THERE WAS A US WIDE POOL BUILDING SPREE POOLS WERE BUILT IN CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, BUT THEY WERE IMMEDIATELY SEGREGATED AND THE WHITE MAINSTREAM HELD RACIST FEARS AGAINST BLACK PEOPLE. THEY DIDN’T WANT TO SWIM WITH THEM. AND THEN WHEN WHITE FLIGHT HAPPENED AND THE, YOU KNOW, 40S THROUGH 60S, 70S, WHITE PEOPLE MOVED TO THE SUBURBS TO PRIVATE POOLS, TO SUBURBAN POOLS AND THEN THE POOLS THAT WERE IN THE CITY, THEY’D BEEN BUILT IN WHITE, WEALTHY NEIGHBORHOODS. THE CITIES DIVESTED AND, UM, MONEY FROM SPENDING MONEY TO MAINTAIN POOLS. AND SO THERE JUST HASN’T BEEN SWIMMING ACCESS. AND JUST SIMILAR TO THIS VERY LATE INCIDENT IN 1975 AT CARSON BEACH, JUST THROUGHOUT THE 20TH CENTURY, THERE HAVE BEEN MANY, MANY INSTANCES OF WHITE FOLKS ENACTING VIOLENCE AGAINST BLACK PEOPLE AND PEOPLE OF COLOR PEACEFULLY ATTEMPTING TO USE PUBLIC POOLS AND PUBLIC BEACHES. SO OF COURSE, LACK OF ACCESS TO PUBLIC BEACHES AND TO PUBLIC POOLS IS GOING TO MEAN THAT GENDER GENERATION OVER GENERATION IS NOT GOING TO GET ACCESS TO SWIMMING AT SOME POINT, TEND TO JUST STAY AWAY. THEY STAY AWAY. AND, UM, UH, JOSE, I WANT YOU TO TALK ABOUT THE SWIM SAFE PROGRAM THAT THE CITY HAS. HOW HAS THE CITY PRIORITIZED SWIM LESSONS AND WHO CAN TAKE THEM? OH, THAT’S A GREAT QUESTION. SO SWIM SAFE PROGRAM IS THE CITY’S MULTI-PRONGED APPROACH TO WATER SAFETY. AND IT’S ESSENTIALLY, AS WE’RE TALKING ABOUT, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL FAMILIES AND ESPECIALLY CHILDREN, UH, HAVE THE TOOLS, RESOURCES AND SKILLS THAT THEY NEED TO LEARN HOW TO BE SAFE AROUND WATER, ESPECIALLY THIS UPCOMING SUMMER SEASON. UM, AND WHAT WE’VE DONE IS WE PROVIDE A GRANT FUNDING FOR AQUATICS PROVIDERS. AND SO THOSE ARE IN ADDITION TO OUR BOSTON CENTERS FOR YOUTH AND FAMILIES, UH, OUR SWIM LOCATIONS, THEY’RE, UM, PARTNERING UP WITH THE YMCA OF GREATER BOSTON, THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB, UM, DORCHESTER HOUSE IN DORCHESTER, WEST END HOUSE, AND A FEW OTHERS. AND SO WE REALLY WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WITH THIS GRANT FUNDING THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO REMOVE THE BARRIERS OF COST FOR SWIM LESSONS, KNOWING THAT THAT IS A POTENTIAL BARRIER FOR SOME FAMILIES. AND SO WITH THIS, UM, FAMILIES ABLE TO CLICK ON, WE HAVE A WEBSITE BOSTON.GOV/SWIM SAFE, WHICH THEY’RE ABLE TO ACCESS AND FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROVIDERS. THEY WILL GO TO THE PROVIDER SITES DIRECTLY. AND THEN THROUGH THERE THEY WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE, UM, MORE THAN LIKELY HOW TO SIGN UP. UNFORTUNATELY, THERE IS A WAITLIST JUST BECAUSE THE DEMAND IS SO HIGH. SURE. SO PEOPLE SHOULD GO TO THE CITY OF BOSTON SITE, UH, PUT IN SWIM SAFE TO FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THEY CAN SIGN UP. YES, ALL RIGHT, JOSE MARTI, THANK YOU BOTH FOR BEING HERE. AND WE’VE POSTED A LINK TO THE SWIM SAFE PROGRAM ON OUR WEBSITE, WCVB.COM.