• grue@lemmy.world
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    21 days ago

    Y’all know that stereotype about how “black people can’t swim?” That came about because, back in the day, cities were being forced to racially-integrate their swimming pools and a lot of them spitefully chose to close them instead. (And then the wealthier white people regained access by buying memberships to private pools, possibly attached to their new swim/tennis subdivision they’d just moved to as a result of white flight. The net result is that White Americans are more likely than Black Americans to have the opportunity to learn to swim, to this day.)

    Just something to think about in this thread about the New York Post trying to get people mad about a leftist brown person in a swimming pool.

    • DagwoodIII@piefed.social
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      21 days ago

      Actually goes back even further.

      During slavery being able to cross water was a superpower for escaping slaves. Blood hounds would lose the scent.

      If a master saw one slave swimming, everyone would be whipped. Pretty soon, the older slaves would stop any kid who went into the river.

      Also https://nabsdivers.org/

        • DagwoodIII@piefed.social
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          21 days ago

          Here’s another fact I learned recently.

          Back in the early days of movies, it was common for a vaudeville to show a one reel cartoon in the middle of the live acts.

          Because blackface performers were popular in those days a lot of the early cartoon were based on blackface comedians.

          That’s why so many wear white gloves, have black bodies and white lips.

    • Blackmist@feddit.uk
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      21 days ago

      Look, just let whitey have this one sport. Between that and the winter olympics, it’s about all we’ve got left.