Ahead of its May 2021 release, Ed Accura has announced the release of the official trailer of the the second film in the “Blacks Can’t Swim” franchise, Blacks Can’t Swim The Sequel.
The documentary follows up on the original film, A Film Called Blacks Can’t Swim, combining acting with real interview footage from various young adults from Black and ethnic minority communities on the topic.
The first movie was released in early 2019, and the sequel was announced in November.
The story follows two Black youths (Layla and K-Frost) from a gritty south London council estate, who are part of a music and sports-based community program designed to help give young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds a better chance in life. But, to complete this program which opens doors to a world of opportunities they must learn to swim.
The first film primarily centered on Accura and his fear of water, which ultimately led him to taking swimming lessons. In the sequel, the producer plays the role of mentor, using his firsthand experience to help get two very reluctant young adults in the water.
“I have voiced several times my belief that Black youth culture could bring the end to the generation-long issue due to a disproportionate amount of Black people not swimming,” said Accura. “I made certain recommendations through four audio-visual aids, Think About It, I won’t Swim, The Sequel, and Letter to the world, on how this could be achieved by focusing on the aquatic career pathway.”
Additionally, here is a letter to “swim culture” from Accura.
“In all honesty, I think it’s safe to say that swimming as a life-skill alone may never be a reason for there to be an uptake in swimming within the black community and the evidence is in the 95% of Black adults and 80% of Black children in England that do not swim.
“Learning how to swim with a career in focus may just be what it takes to change the narrative but before that can happen there are a number of behaviours that will have to be addressed.”
In an online survey, Accura found that 25.5% of those aged 16-25 from black communities said they didn’t swim, and 80% of those that could swim quoted rarely or never as their frequency of swimming, despite almost every one of the participants acknowledging swimming as a life skill.
“The most common reasons given for not swimming in no particular order included that it is not interesting, not relatable to black culture, parents don’t swim, friends don’t swim, not as inviting as other sports, fear of drowning, hair issues and conscious of body issues,” he said.
“What interested me the most was the answer to the question, ‘With training and a job option, would you consider a career in aquatics such as a coach or lifeguard?’ 17.5% answered yes and a further 28% responded maybe.
“This supports my theory that making swimming welcoming, relatable, and financially viable to black youth culture could be what changes the narrative.”
Olympic 1968 Bronze medalist Sprinter John Carlos would have had a bright future in swimming if it hadn’t been so segregated.
Maybe someone should do a movie on stereotypes surrounding white basketball players. Call it White Men Can’t Jump, or something similar.
Oh wait. Never mind. . . .
Saw this article and It regards England. But here in southeast Michigan, we have many African American young swimmers who will probably represent Universities and the National team.
USSwim has done an exceptional job to get swimming in the inner city of Detroit. The suburb teams are peppered with all backgrounds and races. The inner city team who are African American youths are talented and well coached. They will be a force in the next few years.
That attitude comes from Segregation days where African Americans were not allowed in pools. If you never had the opportunity to learn to swim, you will never swim. Simple. That color of skin and ability to swim is BS.
Bill
Lol why is this even a thing? We know there’s lots of top level black swimmers from age group to professional? Honestly this just feels like you guys are saying so many blacks can’t swim thus we must make a movie on it?
You sound like someone who hasn’t watched the first one.
You and I, as swim fans, know that there are top level swimmers who are black. But try going out into the average black community, and what you’ll find is a lot of myths that have been perpetuated through years of racism that all point to “blacks can’t swim.”
The first one is full of interviews with black people who were raised that way.
Educate before you pontificate.
Sorry to tell ya but blacks can swim and many can swim darn good.
Lebron in the pool could be a menace
I think Kevin Durant would have a higher ceiling in swimming than Lebron.
Durant is sooooo skinny. He is also very weak. At the NBA combine he could not even bench 185 lbs a single time! That is a very poor size to power ratio. Can you name an elite male swimmer who could not bench 185? Lebron is a specimen who is way more serious about training and how he cares for his body.
That was then.
This is 2016:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjHnQexeFkc
At his length, his numbers in the weight room are never going to be the best of the best. But 315 is pretty good.
I was impressed when I saw it at first but the description of the video says it’s fake lol
hahaha, you can tell by how the bar came down on the rack and by how easily he lifted it that it’s fake.
Braden, there is no way that is real! Pacing and effort is off. 315 also sounds way different when you rack it.
phelp’s wingspan is 6′ 7″ and foot size is 14
kd’s wingspan is 7′ 5″ and foot size is 18
really intriguing to think about
He was using some Charles Barkley weights 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZIp4daEO1I
Tim Duncan was a competitive swimmer until a hurricane destroyed his home pool, then he switched his focus to basketball
From Wikipedia: Duncan started out as an aspiring swimmer and did not begin playing basketball until ninth grade when Hurricane Hugo destroyed the only available Olympic-sized pool in his homeland of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Correct, he still swim during off season.
He voss trained
You are missing the point…
I hope they’ll wear a cap no need to see the receding hairline on both of them