Paulana Lamonier was certainly on to something when she launched her company Black People Will Swim in 2019. In just a year, not only has Lamonier surpassed her initial goal of helping 30 people learn to swim, she’s gained national attention for her initiative to help the Black community with a skill we’re often lacking due to cultural stigma and socioeconomic challenges.
In a AJ Plus report, published August 2019, 64% of Black children in the United States can’t swim. And as a result, they are three-times more likely to drown than white children their same age.
It’s for this reason that Black swim instructors like Paulana are determined to dismantle the stereotype by helping members within the Black community tackle misconceptions and conquer their fear of swimming.
1) Where did the idea of Black People Will Swim come from?
I’ve been an instructor for about 10 years now and last year I actually decided to challenge myself and teach 30 people how to swim. In the challenge of teaching 30 people how to swim, I had a client who was not only terrified of the water but also said “Black people don’t really swim is because their bones are too dense.” And I’m just like, ‘where did she get that from?’ From there, I thought, how many other rumors or misinformation do people take as fact? As a result, that’s why Black People Will Swim exists. Our tagline is smashing the stereotype that Black people don’t swim because we, in fact, do swim and we’re aiming to get more people to swim.
2) Were you surprised at the little known swim instructors dedicated to teaching Black people how to swim?
This isn’t true. The visibility is not there but there are Black swim instructors who have been doing the work for decades.
Since the inception of BPWS, Paulana has garnered media attention from the likes of Good Morning America, Black Enterprise, Elle , Yahoo! Life and more.
3) You’ve been able to garner lots of momentum in such a short period of time, were you surprised?
Yes, I was surprised! This is a passion of mine, but I didn’t realize how many people were experiencing the same trauma and fear around swimming. I am so excited to be able to partner with brands and amplify the work that we are doing to smash stereotypes.
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Lamonier has also garnered recognition from the likes of Adidas, through their IFundWomen partnership, and has entered a pitch competition with Essence to win up to $100,000 (during the month of June/July).
4) How did your partnership with Adidas come about?
While a formal partnership has not come to fruition just yet, Black People Will Swim are recipients of the Adidas x IFundWomen Re-Imagine Sports grant. Their mission is to reimagine sports for women by leveling the playing field and providing grant opportunities for them. This opportunity gives BPWS a chance to not only raise funds and receive business coaching, but show the world that BPWS means business with the support of Adidas x IFundWomen.
5) What other brands have you partnered with and how did those come about?
The team is working on a solidifying some really great partnerships so stay tuned!
6) As for your Essence pitch competition, where are you now? Do you know where you stand as far as votes?
Unfortunately, Black People Will Swim did not take home the $100K prize. However, since we are a finalist, we did walk home with $15,000. So that in itself is an opportunity of a lifetime! We are super honored to reach such a great milestone within the short period of time that we have launched.
7) What’s your vision for the company?
Our vision and mission at the moment is teaching 2,020 people how to swim [by December 2020]. That is our immediate goal and vision right now, as well as, educating people on the historical racial context between Black people and water/swimming both on a global and national level. We will also educate people on safety tips and how to take care of their hair both before and after swimming. We will be providing job opportunities by hiring qualified instructors at a competitive rate. We are also launching a scholarship program for student athletes to be able to get an education while continuing to swim at a collegiate level.
Visit the official website Black People Will Swim to learn more about the initiative and what you can do to help.
Paulana is also a multimedia journalist who’s written for Forbes, Fast Company, Complex, Shondaland, and more. Learn more by visiting paulana.co or follow and engage with her on Twitter, @itspaulana, where she is an avid tweeter.
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