ASDT Miles for Black Lives

Thank you all so much for your donations! We are so excited to be able to donate so much to an amazing cause!

A corrected link: https://www.diversityinaquatics.org/

“Aquatics sits at the intersectionality of social justice, education and health.”
-Diversity in Aquatics
As division 3 level swimmers and divers, we have experienced privileges throughout our lives to train, learn, and grow within our sport. Today we see higher rates of COVID-19 deaths among minorities. We see black and brown bodies being murdered by the police. We see white people placing people of color in a stigmatized box, and putting them in a position of danger as a result. The systems that have been creating what we see today are not new. We as swimmers and divers see this system in play every day we step onto the pool deck. Our sport has a lot of work to do, and we as the Amherst College Swim and Dive Team want to do what we can to diversify and increase access to the sport we love so much.

On Sunday, June 7th, we will each be performing 8.46 miles of physical activity. 8.46 miles for the eight minutes and forty-six seconds that ex-police officer Derek Chauvin suffocated George Floyd under his knee. For those 8.46 miles, we can run, swim, bike, walk, and literally exercise our rights to life and liberty.

This Gofundme is our way to start the change we want to see in our sport. Our funds will be donated to the nonprofit organization Diversity in Aquatics (https://www.diversityinaquatics.org/). With the mission “to educate, promote, and support swimming, water safety, and healthy aquatics activities for vulnerable populations,” Diversity in Aquatics is dedicated to providing underrepresented communities with a life-saving skill. Statistically, black children aged 5-19 in the United States drown at rates 5.5 times higher than white children in pools, and black children aged 11-12 in the United States drown at rates 10 times those of white children in pools. Diversity in Aquatics is actively working to close this drowning gap and empower people of color in aquatic sports.

We will be taking donations from now until June 9th so that the AAS (Association of Amherst Students) can MATCH every dollar that we donate to Diversity in Aquatics. This is an incredible opportunity and we’re very grateful for the generosity of our community.

Please consider making a donation, and continue to find ways on an individual level that you can support minorities that don’t receive the same privileges of swimming in a pool, going on a run safely, or accessing expensive training equipment.