Tag: Contested Waters

August 29, 2018

Author Interview: A Conversation with Jeff Wiltse, author of Contested Waters: A Social History of Swimming Pools in America

As we approach the Labor Day weekend and the end of the summer swimming pool season, UNC Press publicity director Gina Mahalek talks to Jeff Wiltse, author of Contested Waters: A Social History of Swimming Pools in America. From 19th-century public baths to today’s private backyard havens, swimming pools have been a provocative symbol of American life. In this social… Continue Reading Author Interview: A Conversation with Jeff Wiltse, author of Contested Waters: A Social History of Swimming Pools in America

African American Studies/Civil Rights/Interviews/UNC Press Authors/UNC Press News

Racial Disparities in Swimming Rates: History Informs the Present

Startling statistics from a study done by the University of Memphis and USA Swimming have been reported: about 68.9 percent of African American children are unable to adequately swim, compared to 40 percent of white children with low swimming skills. While the disproportionate rates of swimming skills can be traced to early 20th-century segregation, the question of why this disparity… Continue Reading Racial Disparities in Swimming Rates: History Informs the Present

American History/American Studies/Civil Rights/Interviews