Black Drownings in Shreveport, LA.

As a former lifeguard and swim instructor, I am haunted by the recurring tragedy of kids drowning, especially black kids. In a single event last week, six young people, ages 13 to 18, died at the Red River in Shreveport, LA. (here). How could this be? Single drowning is expectedly too common among blacks, where survey shows only 30% know how to swim, but six all at once? I had to noodle on this.

Maybe if I could explain why it happened, it would not hurt so much. Even with a good surmising of the events, I still ache when I think of what happened in a few short minutes. There are few things to note about drowning before I give my thoughts. For the most part drowning happens quietly, with little or no yelling or even splashing. Victims slip quietly beneath the surface. This is why on-duty lifeguards can often miss a close-by victim. Also, the urge to attempt to save another person, especially someone you know, is overwhelming. The hardest thing to teach a lifeguard is restraint when they cannot reasonably complete a rescue.

On the Red River, DeKendrix Warmer was the first kid in trouble as he realized a sharp drop-off in the river bottom, but he is alive today. So what happened? DeKendrix may not have been an able swimmer but his thrashing and kicking was sufficient to keep him afloat long enough to yell for help. It may be that his crude skills encouraged him into the murky water to begin with. Upon hearing his screams, his nearby siblings and mates of lesser ability would have been overwhelmed, and all six likely rushed simultaneously, contagiously and tragically into the deep water, immediately drowning.

A passerby and strong swimmer, Christopher Patlin, hearing Mrs. Warmer and other screams from on the shore, enters the water and pulls the still thrashing DeKendrix to safety. Again, he was the only one to make it out alive. The grief of young DeKendrix and the families of the victims must be unbearable. At this point, as a parent and YMCA volunteer, I can only plead that all parents get their children swim lessons, and teach them not to enter murky waters of unknown depth. Please!

James C. Collier

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