Courtesy of Ed Accura, London, UK.

A Film Called Blacks Can’t Swim is a documentary film that showcases how British hip-hop artist Ed Accura ventures forward and continues his efforts to learn to swim.

Directed by Mysterex, A Film Called Blacks Can’t Swim chronicles Accura’s experiences in learning how to swim while addressing typical stereotypes and modern myths that have been perpetuated about black people and swimming, and how those factors play into Accura’s own anxiety and borderline trauma. The film also lays out social reasons behind why drowning affects black communities at disproportionate rates.

A 2017 study by Sport England found that white children in Britain are three times more likely to know how to swim than children of color. A 2014 CDC study found that black children aged 5-19 in America drown at a rate over five times greater than that of white children.

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