NASSAU, Bahama — The Howard University Bison swimming program boasts the only all-black swimming team in college swimming in the United States of America (USA). On that swimming roster are five Bahamians who are happy to be a part of something big at the school, The Nassau Guardian reported on Wednesday, March 15, in an article written by Simba French.
The Bahamians on that squad are Erald Thompson III, Kaliyah Albury and siblings Luke Kennedy, Mark-Anthony and Zaylie-Elizabeth Thompson.
Howard, which is located in Washington, D.C, is also the only Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) to have a swimming program. The men’s team won this year’s Northeast Conference (NEC) title in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (DI).
Luke-Kennedy is a senior and was the first of the five to head to Washington for the Bison in 2019. He had his sophomore season canceled due to the presence of COVID-19. He spoke about the box that black persons are placed into when it comes to swimming and thinks that Howard was able to dispel that notion a little.
“I know that the stereotype of black people cannot swim is very known inside America and they tend to judge us based on the color of our skin. Coming out and showing that the color of our skin does not define us is our way of thinking and the sport is big for Howard University. Being the only HBCU with a swim team at the division one level is a really big deal, especially when there’s only 1.5 percent of black swimmers in collegiate swimming. To be able to come out and do what we did is a real accomplishment, for not only us, but for black people in America and around the world,” Luke-Kennedy Thompson said.
Zaylie-Elizabeth, a sophomore, who was one of the captains of last year’s CARIFTA swim team for The Bahamas, said that representation is very important.
“I think it’s important to be that representation – that you can do it too. For little black girls, little black boys and for little Bahamians who are just looking up to swimmers and thinking what to do after high school, this is an outlet. We come from an environment where we look like everyone around us and we compete with people who look like us, then we go to school and we’re the only persons who look like us on the team. Now it’s like I can go to a team and still feel like a part of the family and feel like I’m in a comfortable environment and there are so many people who look like me. I think that kind of representation is important.” Zaylie-Elizabeth said.
Albury, a sophomore, said that there are a lot of Bahamian female swimmers who stop swimming after high school.
“I know a lot of Bahamian swimmers, especially female, just stop swimming, like by the time they finish with high school, because there’s nothing else to do. They don’t know where to go next, so it’s very good to be, that guide or people look at me and say I’m swimming so they could also do it,” Albury said.
See complete article in The Nassau Guardian at https://thenassauguardian.com/bahamian-five-a-part-of-history-at-howard/
