A terrible thing happened in Louisiana last month. Seven teenagers were wading in a river, and one of them, DeKendrix Warner, stepped into deep water and panicked. His friends went to help him, and six of them drowned. None of the teenagers could swim, and neither could the adults present, including DeKendrix's mother Maude Warner, who watched three of her children drown.
Everyone involved was African American, and most black Americans never learn to swim, according to a survey reported by the BBC. 70% of black children can't swim, compared to 60% among Hispanics, and 40% of white children. African American kids are three times more likely to drown than white kids.
What's behind the disparity? Black parents who don't teach their children to swim cited a fear of drowning as the main reason. Most kids who can't swim have parents who can't swim either. And historians say that racial segregation, which denied blacks access to pools during the "swimming boom" of the 1960s-70s, has contributed to the problem.
Why do you think so many Americans can't swim - especially African Americans? Should the government mandate swimming in schools?