Before he became a world-class swimmer and the second African American to win an Olympic gold medal in the sport, Cullen Jones almost died in the water.

Jones was 5 years old and with his family at a Pennsylvania water park, where they waited an hour in line just to fly down a giant slide in an inner tube. Jones' father instructed him to hold on to the tube no matter what.

The tube hit the water, and Jones found himself upside down at the bottom of the pool. Jones didn't know how to swim but he held onto the tube as his father had instructed him to do.

"I remember how it feels to get lightheaded and that terrible feeling that you are drowning," Jones said in an interview with Aol, Black Voices.

Luckily, Jones' father was able to pull him to safety. Not long after that, his mother enrolled him in swim classes. The rest is history, Olympic history.

But now, Jones is on a mission to prevent other African Americans and minorities from experiencing what he went through as a child through his involvement in Make a Splash, the national child-focused anti-drowning initiative from The USA Swimming Foundation.

Many African-American parents fear allowing their kids in the water to learn how to swim, which is creating potentially deadly situations.

A study, commissioned by USA Swimming and conducted by the University of Memphis, found that nearly 70 percent of African-American children and 58 percent of Hispanic children have low or no swim ability. Only 40 percent of Caucasians are in the same predicament. Black kids are three times more likely to drown than white children.

The study also found that parental fear is the biggest factor in preventing African Americans and Latinos from learning how to swim.



"In my own family, a lot of people are afraid of the water or don't know how to swim," Jones said.

A 12-year-old Latino girl from Harlem drowned last week, after being swept out to sea during a school trip to the beach. Lifeguards were not yet on duty.

Fear even trumps finances as the main reason minority kids don't learn how to swim.

"That was a stunning find," Sue Anderson, director of Programs and Services in the Club Development Division of USA Swimming, told Aol. Black Voices in an interview.

"Intuitively, the lack of access to pools or finances have been considered major factors. What we are finding now is some real deep fear on the part of parents. In most cases, the parents don't know how to swim and the kids don't know how to swim as well. It's being passed down," she said.

One parent from Denver told the survey-takers that she didn't want to pay for swimming lessons for her child, because she was fearful of him getting in the water.

"You're already uncomfortable and scared. You're like, 'I'm paying them so I can have heart palpitations on the side-lines. It's not worth it. It really isn't. Why should I have to pay money to be afraid?" the Mother said.

Another Mother in Minneapolis said her fear kept her child out of swim classes.

"I'm scared.... I'm scared for her... while it's the cost, I'm scared...I'm scared for her, I don't know, I'm kinda scared, but she's not afraid."

Anderson said she has been at competitive swimming events where black or Latino kids are participants and parents don't even want to go near the water to serve as volunteer timekeepers.

"What's clear is that if you don't teach your children to swim, then you are putting your grandchildren at risk," said Anderson.

Even more alarming is that there seems to be an epidemic of false confidence among African-American and Latino children. Of the 40 percent of children who said they knew how to swim in the survey, only 18 percent had taken swim lessons from a professional. Anderson says about 28 percent of Latino kids surveyed and 26 percent of African Americans say they taught themselves how to swim.

"I've been at events where I'll ask how many kids know how to swim and they all raise their hands. A lot of hands are up just because their friends' hands is up," said Jones.

"The fact is that if you haven't had lessons then you can't swim. Kids say it looks easy but it's not. Swim lessons are the key to saving yourself from drowning," Jones added.

To make matters worse, 60 percent of the kids with no-to-low swim ability plan to spend time around water at least once a month this summer.

African Americans' fear of water could be based on historical factors, such as segregated pools that sought to keep blacks out. Last year, 60 black and Latino campers were kicked out from a private Philadelphia swim club they contracted to use for the summer, because there was concern they would alter the "complexion" and "atmosphere" of the club. Jones said he was "appalled" by the incident.

A state panel found that the club discriminated against the kids and fined the club $50,000. Ironically, the club filed for bankruptcy last year.

Other factors, such as the myth that chlorine damages brown skin, men thinking they have to wear revealing bikini briefs and women and girls not wanting to mess up their hair by getting in the water, also create a reluctance to learn to swim.

When confronted with the chlorine myth, Jones said that he always talks about the benefit of lotion.

"If you're ashy, that's what they have lotion for. I've been swimming for 17 years and I'm not ashy all the time," Jones said with a chuckle.

In addition to missing out on the life-saving potential that knowing how to swim provides, African Americans are also missing out on the health benefits of swimming, such as exercise.

Jones said that he's used to feeling hungry after swimming practice because it burns so many calories, but when he goes with friends to the pool for exercise, they are sometimes surprised at how hungry they are.

"I watch them attack the food, because they have burned so much energy. Even walking in the pool provides a great deal of resistance. It's a great way to work out," said Jones.

Traveling around the country, Jones said he's encouraged with how many African-American kids are eager to learn to swim. Jones, more than just a spokesperson for the Make a Splash initiative, loves getting in the pool and helping kids learn how to swim. He sees this as a long-term, hands-on effort.

Jones knows that his high profile is making a difference. One child he met at the Make a Splash events decided to get involved in competitive swimming. Her dad told Jones she chose swimming over basketball after seeing Jones' performance in the Olympics.

The father told Jones: "It has been the best thing for her and it was all because of you."

Anderson said the goal is to make swimming 35 to 40 percent minority. "Those gold medalists are out there," said Anderson.

"We need more colors. We can't just have one color. When you see Cullen talking to a crowd of kids, their eyes are like saucers. That message is very powerful," she added.

Jones is already preparing for the 2012 Olympics, where he hopes to win multiple gold medals. In the meantime, he's focused on saving lives.

"I really try to preach that it's a life skill to send your kids to the pool for lessons," Jones said. "You wouldn't allow your child in a car without a seat belt or to play football without a helmet. We have to make this a priority."