Reasons – first two reasons from New York Times article Aug 2012
- Slave owners did not want them to learn how to swim – they could escape
- US beaches, until recent decades, were white-only
- African-Americans do not need a sun tan (but do need vitamin D)
CDC reports
African-American children aged 5-14 almost are 3X more likely to drown
See also Vitamin D Life
- All items in category skin color and Vitamin D
- No – 10 minutes per day of sun-UVB is NOT enough
Blacks probably need 5X as much time in the sun to generate the same amount of vitamin D as whites - Overview Dark Skin and Vitamin D, which has the following graphic