Everybody Into the Pool - washingtonpost.com: ... Mason leads 130 students, 104 of whom are black, ages 2 1/2 to 14 at a Prince George's County learn-to-swim program. They come to Fairwood Community Pool in Bowie five days a week with bright faces, their hands clasping beach-themed towels and sunscreen. The large black representation is in contrast to a study released in May that said almost 60 percent of black children can't swim, about twice as many as white youth.
"When you're in the water," said Jessica Lewis, 13, drying herself under a canopy, "you just feel free."
The program was one of the first of its kind. In 1988, SwimAmerica, a national learn-to-swim program, began with five pilot programs, one of which included Mason's. He held lessons at Bowie State University and attracted children from Crofton and north Bowie, predominantly white areas. In 2003, the school decided not to rent its pool to outside groups and Mason was forced to look elsewhere.
The move changed the demographics of his clientele. He relocated about 12 miles southwest, to the Prince George's Sports & Learning Complex adjacent to FedEx Field in Landover. (Sessions are held only at Fairwood Community Pool during the summer.) By the 2000 census, the population of greater Landover was 92 percent African American. Mason's students reflected the figures.
