Jim Crow Robbed America of Public Pools. It’s Time to get Them Back.

It may seem counterintuitive to think about aquatics in wintertime, but publicly accessible swimming pools are an essential community resource year-round. One reason is that many middle and high schools lack their own pools and rely on those at community centers, and the swim season often occurs in winter. Even more importantly, knowing how to swim is a survival skill. Yet more than 15 percent of adults in the U.S. don’t know how to swim — that’s roughly 50 million people — and nearly 55 percent have never taken a swimming lesson. Non-swimming rates are higher among women and older adults and significantly higher among children. 

A large part of this reality dates back to the Jim Crow era, when white leaders closed hundreds of community pools around the nation — many built during the New Deal boom of the 1930s — to avoid integration. This gave rise to the private pool movement, where access shifted to whites-only country clubs, housing communities, backyard pools, and other private spaces. 

Many community pools that remained open became chronically underfunded, eventually leading to closure. Today, there are approximately 10.4 million private pools in the U.S. compared to about 309,000 public ones, and this discrepancy is just as pronounced in communities that are far away from safe swimming beaches, lakes, and rivers.

The economic and racial disparities between those who can and cannot swim are stark.

Tragically, the same is true for drowning deaths. Black children drown at more than 7.6 times the rate of white children, and Black Americans experience the second-highest drowning rates overall, following Native Americans. While most drowning deaths occur during the summer months when aquatic activity is at its peak, they happen throughout all twelve months of the year — including during severe storms and floods. As former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu noted at the recent conference of the American Society of Landscape Architects, many deaths during Hurricane Katrina could have been prevented if more residents had known how to swim. Public pools offer the safest place for swim instruction since they’re staffed with trained lifeguards.

If keeping people alive were not reason enough to fund public pools — and to ensure schools have reliable spaces for swim instruction and competition — swimming also provides a wide range of health benefits. Swimming is a full-body workout that strengthens the cardiovascular system, builds endurance, and increases overall strength. It also relieves stress, builds confidence, and fosters discipline and resilience. Many seniors rely on swimming as a safe, low-impact exercise for joint health, while others depend on it during recovery from injuries or other health challenges. Modern pools with ADA features allow adults and children of different abilities to experience aquatics. And in our indoor, sedentary, screen-addicted culture, public pools provide a rare place for diverse community members to gather, socialize, escape the summer heat, and have fun. 

Like public parks and urban trails, community pools are an essential type of public space. They bring people together, serve as great equalizers, and encourage physical activity. Public pools create local jobs, generate revenue from meets and competitions, increase nearby property values, and improve human health and safety — making them investments that give back many times over. Some communities with tight budgets have found success through nonprofit management and public-private partnerships. 

As 2026 begins, let’s advocate for the creation of more public pools and ample year-round funding, working toward a future where every child can feel the thrill of diving in and every community can gather safely around the water.