WEBVTT - Swim Shady (with Aminah Imani) 0:00:01.880 --> 0:00:04.960 I played basketball growing up. That was my ship, and 0:00:05.360 --> 0:00:08.760 because the pandemic have not, I hadn't played basketball like 0:00:08.800 --> 0:00:12.399 a year and a half, and literally on Saturday played 0:00:12.440 --> 0:00:15.360 for the first time. And now I'm not sure I'm 0:00:15.400 --> 0:00:19.280 ever gonna touch my toes. You know. It's It's one 0:00:19.280 --> 0:00:21.439 of them things where you just like, oh, I didn't 0:00:21.520 --> 0:00:24.680 use these muscles, and I regret every choice I've made. 0:00:24.720 --> 0:00:27.240 Now listen, but once you get it back, you could 0:00:27.560 --> 0:00:29.920 always come back. But I'm a bad as a grown man. 0:00:29.960 --> 0:00:32.120 You're like, I don't think I can take this chance anymore. 0:00:33.120 --> 0:00:36.680 It's not worth It's not worth it. Thirty four. I 0:00:36.760 --> 0:00:39.400 don't know what this these wrists are for anymore. I'm 0:00:39.440 --> 0:00:42.240 not gonna dump. I never could dump. It ain't happen 0:00:42.320 --> 0:01:08.600 in the Anemi racists money term stuff. I can't tell me. Yep, yep, yep, 0:01:08.640 --> 0:01:11.960 there it is. There it is. Ladies and gentlemen, Welcome 0:01:12.000 --> 0:01:16.960 to another spectacular episode of My Mama Told Me, the 0:01:17.040 --> 0:01:20.959 podcast where we got deep, deep into the pockets of 0:01:21.000 --> 0:01:25.360 black conspiracy theories and we finally worked to prove that 0:01:25.440 --> 0:01:30.560 Henrietta Lex cured polio and more importantly, cured people from 0:01:30.640 --> 0:01:34.480 naming their child Henrietta. Nobody wants to name their kids 0:01:34.520 --> 0:01:38.280 Henrietta anymore, and it's because of you, Henrietta Lacks. Thank 0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:41.080 you for your sacrifice, thank you for all the work 0:01:41.200 --> 0:01:43.920 that you did helping us figure out a bunch of 0:01:43.920 --> 0:01:47.800 ships with cancer and diseases. And I'm sorry the government 0:01:47.840 --> 0:01:50.080 treated you the way that they did. But maybe if 0:01:50.120 --> 0:01:52.960 your mom didn't name you Henrietta, we would have respected 0:01:53.000 --> 0:01:56.600 you more. Hard to know anyway, I'm your host, Langston Kerman. 0:01:56.640 --> 0:02:00.240 As always, I'm coming in. I am misbehaving. I am 0:02:00.360 --> 0:02:02.600 not acting the way that I'm supposed to do. This 0:02:02.800 --> 0:02:05.920 is my personality at all times, ladies and gentlemen. I'm 0:02:05.960 --> 0:02:08.040 not sure how to fix it. But you know who 0:02:08.120 --> 0:02:11.840 has a lovely personality? You know who shines every time 0:02:11.880 --> 0:02:15.200 I see it. She's She's just a lovely person, a 0:02:15.360 --> 0:02:20.960 hilarious person. Most importantly, a hilarious person. Secondly, a lovely person. 0:02:21.040 --> 0:02:22.920 But she's great. You know her from her work on 0:02:23.000 --> 0:02:25.640 Comedy Central. So funny. Give it up from my guests, 0:02:25.840 --> 0:02:34.720 Miss amina E Myne, what's going on? How you I'm 0:02:34.760 --> 0:02:38.160 doing good? How are you feeling? I'm chilling? You know, 0:02:39.080 --> 0:02:48.160 it's the temperatures are changing. Outside, I baby coming. Congratulations. Yeah, yeah, 0:02:49.080 --> 0:02:52.240 I've been through. My son is he turned seven this year? 0:02:52.919 --> 0:02:57.800 Oh I know, right, I know. Okay, So seven is 0:02:57.840 --> 0:03:00.280 that a cool age or is there an age would 0:03:00.360 --> 0:03:04.600 prefer he would have just like chill that seven seems 0:03:04.680 --> 0:03:08.840 to be where it's like, oh, this person has an 0:03:08.880 --> 0:03:13.400 opinion of voice, so it's challenging. So I mean, I 0:03:13.400 --> 0:03:15.880 don't I can't say I would just like let him 0:03:15.960 --> 0:03:18.320 chill through because it's not like when he was little, 0:03:18.360 --> 0:03:20.720 when he was just you know, messing up around and stuff. 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:23.160 But like seven is like an age where I like, oh, 0:03:23.200 --> 0:03:25.800 you have to get to know your kid because everything pricey. 0:03:26.000 --> 0:03:30.040 Now it's like that's who you kind of defined him as, 0:03:30.080 --> 0:03:34.000 and now my child is like I'm defining myself. So 0:03:34.200 --> 0:03:39.440 that we're in that space. Oh look you you and 0:03:39.640 --> 0:03:42.080 you've made the song, but I invented the remake. Here 0:03:42.080 --> 0:03:45.240 we go. You feel me Winky winky coming through hot 0:03:45.280 --> 0:03:47.440 You know what I'm saying. Last call might be at 0:03:47.440 --> 0:03:49.720 two am, it might be three am. It depends on 0:03:49.800 --> 0:03:55.400 my day. You know that. In so, but congratulations, congratulate love. 0:03:56.280 --> 0:03:59.080 They always said you would never like people. You're gonna 0:03:59.120 --> 0:04:01.280 miss the baby and like, no, I'm not because this 0:04:01.320 --> 0:04:04.040 is this is dumb, but no, I do miss it 0:04:04.080 --> 0:04:07.680 because that's when it was. It's even as complicated as 0:04:07.680 --> 0:04:12.040 it's gonna feel. That's as simple as he gets. Right, Yeah, 0:04:12.160 --> 0:04:16.599 this person, this little rubber person with a unworking neck, 0:04:16.800 --> 0:04:20.640 is probably the easiest that I'm telling you is. And 0:04:20.720 --> 0:04:23.120 you're gonna be like, what the hell this is easy, 0:04:23.160 --> 0:04:27.480 and I'm just telling you buckle up. Damn. All right, Well, 0:04:27.680 --> 0:04:31.280 with a haunting way to start this episode of the podcast, 0:04:31.320 --> 0:04:36.440 I'm like, relations but congratulations, you're like about to be 0:04:36.520 --> 0:04:43.560 asked though, all right, we can't bullshit around anymore because 0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:47.320 you came with a conspiracy theory that I'm so excited, 0:04:49.480 --> 0:04:52.200 one that one that we have not touched, one that 0:04:52.200 --> 0:04:54.920 that I think frankly deserves to be touched. It is 0:04:54.960 --> 0:04:59.160 such a common conspiracy theory that I I personally know 0:04:59.279 --> 0:05:02.560 quite a few people who have argued that this is 0:05:02.680 --> 0:05:05.560 a true to life thing. You said, my mama told 0:05:05.680 --> 0:05:17.360 me black people can't swim. Yes, tell me more, tell 0:05:17.400 --> 0:05:20.320 me everything you know. Well, I feel like the irony 0:05:20.360 --> 0:05:24.000 of the situation is I grew up as a professional swimmer. 0:05:24.279 --> 0:05:29.599 So yeah, there's a twist to that, but I heard 0:05:29.640 --> 0:05:34.000 it so often. It's so common, and that's why I 0:05:34.040 --> 0:05:37.120 was like, I think this would be perfect for the podcast. 0:05:37.279 --> 0:05:40.279 But even still to this day, when I tell people 0:05:40.600 --> 0:05:46.640 I swim professionally, it's like that response like really, what where? 0:05:46.720 --> 0:05:48.840 And then I'm like, I went to a HBC, you know, 0:05:49.360 --> 0:05:53.240 not ABCU and swim theme, so and it's always like 0:05:53.279 --> 0:05:55.960 I didn't know, I didn't know, And it's this common 0:05:56.000 --> 0:05:58.960 theme of like black people can't swim. And then now 0:05:59.040 --> 0:06:01.720 I'm like, this unit for him because I swim my 0:06:01.760 --> 0:06:05.000 whole life from the age of six competitively up until 0:06:05.080 --> 0:06:10.280 college twenty two. So if I see where the truth 0:06:10.440 --> 0:06:14.400 comes from, because statistically, you know where the minority in 0:06:14.440 --> 0:06:16.560 this sport, just like a lot of sports that you 0:06:16.640 --> 0:06:19.600 have for that are like I feel like catered to 0:06:19.680 --> 0:06:23.040 white people, um only because it's like a luxury, you 0:06:23.080 --> 0:06:24.920 know what I mean. Like I feel like the sports 0:06:24.920 --> 0:06:27.920 that we have was like, you know, something you can 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:30.560 you can do when your your garage or you know, 0:06:30.640 --> 0:06:33.240 you're like the driveway, but swimming is like you have 0:06:33.520 --> 0:06:36.120 you have to have a facility. You probably have to 0:06:36.200 --> 0:06:39.240 don't car to get the facility. Like I don't know 0:06:39.400 --> 0:06:43.240 where to buy a polar racket and I'm and I 0:06:43.440 --> 0:06:45.800 have money, so I don't even know, you know what 0:06:45.839 --> 0:06:48.920 I mean, Like, this is why I feel like it's stradgy, 0:06:49.120 --> 0:06:50.880 you know, Like this is why I feel like it's 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:55.000 it's a conspiracy and that right. But yeah, so a 0:06:55.040 --> 0:06:57.560 lot of black people don't actually know how to swim. 0:06:57.760 --> 0:07:01.080 And it's often that you'll even travel to a Caribbean 0:07:01.640 --> 0:07:05.400 you know, country, and they're surrounded by border and they 0:07:05.440 --> 0:07:09.200 can't even swim, right, So this is this is just 0:07:09.560 --> 0:07:12.880 a common conversation that people always say and believe and think. 0:07:13.080 --> 0:07:16.480 So well, let me, let's let's back up a little bit. 0:07:17.480 --> 0:07:20.320 I think you're getting to a lot of very important truths, 0:07:20.400 --> 0:07:23.440 but I've got more questions for you at the beginning 0:07:23.480 --> 0:07:26.960 of this. So you grew up swimming, you from age 0:07:27.000 --> 0:07:31.400 six you said you were already somebody threw at the 0:07:31.480 --> 0:07:34.320 age of six months, So I was. My My dad 0:07:34.360 --> 0:07:37.920 actually was a swim instructor. So my dad taught me out. Okay, 0:07:38.320 --> 0:07:40.960 So I was in the pool. I'm the youngest of setting, 0:07:41.080 --> 0:07:43.800 so my older siblings were already swimming, and then when 0:07:43.840 --> 0:07:46.320 I was born, we were putting the water immediately. And 0:07:46.360 --> 0:07:48.200 then from the age of six, we joined the swim 0:07:48.240 --> 0:07:51.040 team in Atlanta and we competed on ESA and swim 0:07:51.040 --> 0:07:52.960 team up into the age of college. And then we 0:07:52.960 --> 0:07:55.200 went to college on a full scholarship. And I say 0:07:55.240 --> 0:07:57.880 we because I have a twin sister, So we went 0:07:57.960 --> 0:08:02.160 to college on a full scholarship for swimming. Was one 0:08:02.200 --> 0:08:06.120 of you better than the other, So yes, my sister 0:08:06.320 --> 0:08:09.400 was faster than me, but it was like it was points. 0:08:09.560 --> 0:08:12.400 It was like point zero of seconds, which is very 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:16.280 significant in the sport. But I have to I have 0:08:16.400 --> 0:08:20.800 to admit gracefully that yes she was testidy damn. So 0:08:20.880 --> 0:08:23.280 I gotta get her on the podcast because I'm talking. 0:08:25.040 --> 0:08:27.600 But this is so big, this is a twist to it. 0:08:27.880 --> 0:08:30.720 My sister was only fast and two events and one stroke. 0:08:30.920 --> 0:08:34.440 I was fast and four events and all of the strokes, 0:08:35.000 --> 0:08:38.160 So I was actually, yes, I was actually more decorated 0:08:38.200 --> 0:08:42.520 as a swimmer. But you are a more person und yeah, 0:08:42.760 --> 0:08:46.400 just rounded out swimming exactly. She could nail certain strokes. 0:08:46.440 --> 0:08:48.600 She had that one stroke and she would kill it 0:08:48.720 --> 0:08:51.040 and that would be that that one event for her, 0:08:51.400 --> 0:08:53.240 and then but for me, like save you were you 0:08:53.360 --> 0:08:56.400 were doing a relay, I could go I could even 0:08:56.440 --> 0:08:59.559 do hers or someone else's and it's still be great. 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:02.200 You know that I'm saying. So, did y'all ever do 0:09:02.520 --> 0:09:08.000 some sister sister ship and make it absolutely? I paid 0:09:08.040 --> 0:09:10.679 my brilliant to swim some of my events. We would 0:09:10.720 --> 0:09:12.640 like we had different colors swim caps, and no one 0:09:12.679 --> 0:09:15.040 could tell us apart, so we would like switch swim 0:09:15.160 --> 0:09:19.000 caps and and and just doing it was and and 0:09:19.080 --> 0:09:21.960 sometimes like when we were younger, they actually mixed us 0:09:22.040 --> 0:09:24.880 up so like it wasn't even strategized for us to 0:09:24.920 --> 0:09:26.760 swim each other events. They just sucked up, like, oh 0:09:26.800 --> 0:09:31.240 I thought that was I thought that was Anna. So yeah, yeah, damn, 0:09:31.360 --> 0:09:33.680 and I have I've seen both of y'all, and it 0:09:33.880 --> 0:09:37.720 is tough to tell y'all apart. I listen, I haven't 0:09:37.760 --> 0:09:40.160 spent enough time around y'all, but it stressed me the 0:09:40.200 --> 0:09:43.720 funk out when I saw both of you together. Yes, 0:09:43.840 --> 0:09:46.959 we've done sister sister stuff all the time, especially when 0:09:46.960 --> 0:09:48.920 it came to swimming, because my coach made sure we 0:09:48.960 --> 0:09:51.440 swim all the events, so that's even like the long ones, 0:09:51.480 --> 0:09:53.320 and we didn't want to. So I'd be like, y'all 0:09:53.400 --> 0:09:54.960 keep swimming to dollars if you take care of this' 0:09:55.000 --> 0:10:01.040 two hundred breaststrokes from me problem. I love of that. Okay, 0:10:01.080 --> 0:10:04.800 let me ask you this. Growing up your swimming, are 0:10:04.920 --> 0:10:10.160 you competing against white people? Are you competing in predominantly 0:10:10.160 --> 0:10:15.320 black spaces? Who who is your white all white people? 0:10:16.000 --> 0:10:19.360 It's nothing but white people. So I swim for the 0:10:19.720 --> 0:10:23.760 USA A swimming which is like the national you know, 0:10:24.360 --> 0:10:28.480 like confidence. But they had the organization, and so you 0:10:28.520 --> 0:10:32.120 would out of the whole organization you have about maybe 0:10:32.120 --> 0:10:36.520 one to two percent of black and other swimmers, you 0:10:36.600 --> 0:10:38.040 know what I mean. Like it wasn't even just black, 0:10:38.040 --> 0:10:40.959 it was like anybody other than white. It was it 0:10:41.080 --> 0:10:44.480 feels that two percent out of the whole nation. So um, 0:10:44.480 --> 0:10:47.720 So swimming is a predominantly or was I should say, 0:10:48.040 --> 0:10:51.120 a predominantly white sport when I was growing up. So 0:10:51.160 --> 0:10:54.760 we were like the only black team. And because because 0:10:54.920 --> 0:10:57.679 of like the height of the competition, like we will 0:10:57.720 --> 0:11:00.480 go to Junior Olympics, we will go to zone, we 0:11:00.480 --> 0:11:03.679 will go to like high regional meats, it would it 0:11:03.720 --> 0:11:05.840 would get even, it would get worse. It would be 0:11:05.840 --> 0:11:07.839 like two black people at that meet, you know what 0:11:07.920 --> 0:11:10.720 I mean. So even in my swim team, like even 0:11:10.760 --> 0:11:12.840 in the team. You had to be fast enough. And 0:11:12.840 --> 0:11:15.160 if you were as fast to go to those events, 0:11:15.400 --> 0:11:17.400 now it will become like it would just be you 0:11:17.440 --> 0:11:21.400 and your friend there. Damn. Okay. So, so you're going 0:11:21.440 --> 0:11:25.160 to these predominantly white spaces, you're competing against almost entirely 0:11:25.160 --> 0:11:27.880 white people. Is there are part of you at this 0:11:28.000 --> 0:11:30.520 point because you're growing up with a black dad who's 0:11:30.520 --> 0:11:33.439 teaching y'all how to swim, who's encouraging you, clearly is 0:11:33.880 --> 0:11:37.960 coaching you well, because you're competing on the junior Olympic level, 0:11:38.520 --> 0:11:42.520 is there are part of you that still has the 0:11:42.600 --> 0:11:45.800 black people can't swim running in your head? Or you 0:11:45.960 --> 0:11:48.120 like competing like, no, I don't give a funk about 0:11:48.120 --> 0:11:51.959 none of that, and I'm gonna bust y'all. Ass um. Well, 0:11:52.880 --> 0:11:57.880 it was more like I see why black people don't swim. 0:11:57.920 --> 0:12:00.400 It was more like, I see why we don't do this. 0:12:00.559 --> 0:12:03.920 It's a lot like, you know, especially as a black woman, 0:12:04.480 --> 0:12:07.480 you know, you you I'm competing against these white people. 0:12:08.000 --> 0:12:10.400 And after the swim meeting is over, you know, the 0:12:10.440 --> 0:12:13.040 white girl cloths in the locker room, she sprinkles water 0:12:13.080 --> 0:12:15.600 on her hair, put on at eyeliner, and she hops 0:12:15.600 --> 0:12:19.200 out of the locker room and it's a new day. Meanwhile, 0:12:19.280 --> 0:12:23.280 I'm over here saton conditioner, putting a shallow caps over 0:12:23.360 --> 0:12:27.120 my head, doing a little twist style, trying to and 0:12:27.160 --> 0:12:29.319 it's still coming out with a little bed to not 0:12:29.760 --> 0:12:33.160 you know, scar coming out, you know. And so I 0:12:33.440 --> 0:12:36.719 would say more so because of the response that I 0:12:36.720 --> 0:12:39.440 will always get because people are like, oh, I didn't 0:12:39.440 --> 0:12:41.439 know you swim on the black people swim. That's that 0:12:41.559 --> 0:12:44.160 was like just a common thing growing up. But also 0:12:44.280 --> 0:12:47.200 as I was competing and and swimming, I was like, 0:12:47.240 --> 0:12:49.160 I see, I see why we don't do this. This 0:12:49.320 --> 0:12:51.440 This is a lot you know. I had eggs and muskin. 0:12:52.040 --> 0:12:54.480 It's just it wasn't conducive, you know what I mean, 0:12:54.520 --> 0:12:56.679 Like it just it's you know, it was a lot 0:12:56.840 --> 0:12:59.640 dry skin on a black person, you know. But things 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:02.800 things are different now, especially with the chemicals that they 0:13:02.880 --> 0:13:05.319 used with the water and especially like hair products and 0:13:05.360 --> 0:13:08.040 all of that. But growing up, it was it was tough. 0:13:08.840 --> 0:13:10.760 Well that's what I was gonna ask because I have 0:13:10.880 --> 0:13:13.320 to assume, and this is this is me putting my 0:13:13.400 --> 0:13:17.080 conspiratorial hat on. I have to assume that there's yeah, 0:13:17.520 --> 0:13:22.360 I'm a tip. And I have to assume that there's 0:13:22.400 --> 0:13:26.800 there's an instinct or at least an unwillingness to change 0:13:27.480 --> 0:13:30.920 the form of the water, of the chemicals, of all 0:13:30.960 --> 0:13:34.800 the things, because it doesn't negatively affect the people that 0:13:34.920 --> 0:13:39.080 they're they're most trying to service, right, And there has 0:13:39.120 --> 0:13:41.520 to be a way to make water with a little 0:13:41.520 --> 0:13:44.400 bit of lotion in it or just a tad bit 0:13:44.440 --> 0:13:47.640 of conditioner cooked in that chemical, just that it wouldn't 0:13:47.640 --> 0:13:51.000 do as many harsh things to black skin and black 0:13:51.040 --> 0:13:54.640 hair as as it's done in the past, exactly. And 0:13:54.679 --> 0:13:58.520 even even just the design of the swimsuit. You know, 0:13:58.640 --> 0:14:01.320 we're more curty, you feel me like we're they're making 0:14:01.320 --> 0:14:04.720 these swimsuits for boxes. I mean, you know, no, no disrespect, 0:14:04.720 --> 0:14:12.280 but respectfully like disrespect. But you guys are shaped like 0:14:19.680 --> 0:14:22.560 and even like the shower, like the swim cap. You know, 0:14:22.800 --> 0:14:25.240 usually you know, we have larger hair, Like I'm no. 0:14:25.320 --> 0:14:27.680 Growing up, I had to wear braids. Well that was 0:14:27.760 --> 0:14:30.600 just more conducive than wearing my hair out because it 0:14:30.680 --> 0:14:33.320 was such a stress. And so now like, are you 0:14:33.360 --> 0:14:37.640 going to design a swim cap that is great for performance? 0:14:37.680 --> 0:14:41.160 But I saw something that you know can can keep 0:14:41.200 --> 0:14:44.240 all of my hair inside. So it was it was 0:14:44.280 --> 0:14:46.280 definitely little little things like that. But I think it's 0:14:46.280 --> 0:14:49.640 just yeah, I mean conspiracy. And then also just like 0:14:50.720 --> 0:14:53.280 we wasn't growing up like I'm about to swim. That 0:14:53.480 --> 0:14:57.200 wasn't something like do you even know how to swim? Well, 0:14:57.360 --> 0:15:00.400 I don't like how you said that. I do. I 0:15:00.960 --> 0:15:05.040 am uh, I am not a strong swimmer. I'll say that, 0:15:05.760 --> 0:15:08.080 but that is more as a result of my anxiety. 0:15:08.160 --> 0:15:11.440 It is not a result of me not being taught. 0:15:11.640 --> 0:15:15.200 I was taught for years. I went to you know, 0:15:15.280 --> 0:15:16.760 I was one of them kids that grew up in 0:15:16.760 --> 0:15:19.840 like after school programs where they would like make you 0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:24.640 go take swim lessons, and I just could never relax 0:15:24.800 --> 0:15:28.720 enough in the water to get like the breathing down yeah, 0:15:29.040 --> 0:15:32.840 and do it correctly. But I plenty of people put 0:15:32.880 --> 0:15:39.440 resources behind me. Yeah exactly, that makes sense. That makes sense. 0:15:39.440 --> 0:15:42.880 So I don't I don't know if you remember this. 0:15:43.080 --> 0:15:45.040 There was that as you were talking about the swim 0:15:45.080 --> 0:15:48.840 caps and all that, it reminded me that this past Olympics, 0:15:48.920 --> 0:15:52.400 I think there was that big controversy of the black 0:15:52.440 --> 0:15:55.640 woman who had, like I guess, invented a larger swim 0:15:55.680 --> 0:15:58.840 cap that was meant to be more accommodating for black hair, 0:15:59.240 --> 0:16:02.200 and then the Olympic committee came down and was like, nah, 0:16:02.520 --> 0:16:04.640 we don't know that ship, so you gotta get rid 0:16:04.680 --> 0:16:07.080 of it. Like it, it does seem like a very 0:16:07.160 --> 0:16:12.560 intentional effort to at least not be accommodating for the 0:16:12.600 --> 0:16:15.680 needs of a different type of swimmers. Yeah, and often 0:16:15.800 --> 0:16:18.840 it's because they never had to They never had to 0:16:18.840 --> 0:16:21.840 be accommodating. You're you're looking at years of years of 0:16:21.960 --> 0:16:25.520 years and even now, like we're just now seeing black 0:16:26.200 --> 0:16:31.080 swimmers in the Olympics, right, Like even so I wanted 0:16:31.160 --> 0:16:33.280 what was the first year because it was it had 0:16:33.320 --> 0:16:35.120 to be like around when I was in college, so 0:16:35.160 --> 0:16:38.720 it wasn't too long ago. And that's when you saw 0:16:39.320 --> 0:16:40.960 I don't want to mess up his name, but it 0:16:41.040 --> 0:16:44.200 was like one black guy in the Olympics, and then 0:16:44.200 --> 0:16:47.160 we had one more, and then now it was like two. 0:16:47.320 --> 0:16:51.240 So we're looking like, why would they be accommodating or 0:16:51.280 --> 0:16:54.600 why would they, you know, even go out their way 0:16:54.640 --> 0:16:57.440 to do that when we're still looking at a lower 0:16:57.520 --> 0:17:02.760 number of black swimmers at that level of competition. Yeah, 0:17:02.880 --> 0:17:05.320 and and to some extent, I I don't even know. 0:17:05.560 --> 0:17:09.879 This doesn't justify the decision at all, definitely rationalizes it 0:17:10.000 --> 0:17:12.760 where I don't even think that Sometimes what they're doing 0:17:12.920 --> 0:17:17.200 is like an overt malicious racism as it is like 0:17:17.640 --> 0:17:21.399 black people are like, yo, this would make my swim 0:17:21.440 --> 0:17:26.639 experience more simple, easy, comfortable, whatever it is, And they're like, yeah, 0:17:26.680 --> 0:17:29.800 but if we change the rules, the rules are just changed. 0:17:29.840 --> 0:17:32.199 And y'all niggas are just here for a week, like 0:17:32.240 --> 0:17:36.439 your temporary or like or you have these type of 0:17:36.480 --> 0:17:39.919 organizations where they hold so much weight in the rules 0:17:39.960 --> 0:17:42.080 that they just they don't want to change it just 0:17:42.480 --> 0:17:46.200 because of the honor of tradition, you know what I mean, 0:17:46.240 --> 0:17:50.439 Like you have like you, it's stubbornness too, that energy 0:17:50.560 --> 0:17:53.560 as well. Um, so yeah, definitely not condoning it, but 0:17:53.760 --> 0:17:57.440 that that level of understanding can just kind of give 0:17:57.480 --> 0:18:01.560 you an idea of where everybody kind of be coming from. Yeah, 0:18:01.560 --> 0:18:05.240 it's Serena Williams wearing that catsuit and everybody freaked the 0:18:05.320 --> 0:18:07.800 funk out because they're like this, you can't wear a 0:18:07.840 --> 0:18:10.360 cat suit. But it's like, but the bitch looked good 0:18:10.359 --> 0:18:13.399 in the cat suitt suit. But they're like, but tradition 0:18:13.560 --> 0:18:16.800 says cat suits are not what we wear when we 0:18:16.920 --> 0:18:18.960 do the thing. It's like, I don't know, man, it 0:18:19.080 --> 0:18:22.280 go hand in hand and also a level of control too, 0:18:22.560 --> 0:18:26.000 but that's why you have the different views and depends 0:18:26.040 --> 0:18:29.840 on other side. But um, yeah, yeah, so I don't know. 0:18:29.960 --> 0:18:33.160 Hopefully I haven't really been following too close. But hopefully 0:18:33.840 --> 0:18:38.800 I know now as I move forward, even as I've 0:18:38.840 --> 0:18:42.480 liked taught lessons and I see more black people are swimming, 0:18:42.520 --> 0:18:46.880 So that's that's the good thing. Is your son a swimmer? 0:18:46.960 --> 0:18:52.000 Does he swim? He is? He is? He actually talked 0:18:52.040 --> 0:18:56.000 so the same way my dad taught me how to swim. 0:18:56.040 --> 0:18:58.080 My dad actually taught him how to swim suit. But 0:18:58.119 --> 0:19:00.119 the beauty of it was he would bring him to 0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:03.200 my swimming lessons, so it was like, oh yeah, yeah 0:19:03.240 --> 0:19:05.040 it was. It was actually really nice. So he was 0:19:05.080 --> 0:19:07.920 a little baby taking my little mommy and me classes, 0:19:07.960 --> 0:19:11.160 but mommy was teaching the class and granddad was standing 0:19:11.240 --> 0:19:14.399 in as the parents. So he's been in the water 0:19:14.440 --> 0:19:18.520 since he was a small baby, which the Yeah, so 0:19:18.640 --> 0:19:22.160 he's a strong swimmer. You are keeping this tradition going. Yeah, 0:19:22.200 --> 0:19:24.200 when the pandemic kind of hurt us what I will 0:19:24.280 --> 0:19:26.199 want to tell people. It's like with swimming, just like 0:19:26.240 --> 0:19:28.040 with any skill, if you don't do it after a while, 0:19:28.119 --> 0:19:30.840 you lose it. So we actually just was we was 0:19:30.880 --> 0:19:34.360 on vacation and my cousins was like, he came swim 0:19:34.440 --> 0:19:35.800 me case swim and I was like, no, we just 0:19:35.840 --> 0:19:37.840 forgot So I had to kind of just hit him 0:19:37.840 --> 0:19:41.720 in the water. I had to get an the water 0:19:41.760 --> 0:19:43.760 with him and we'm him who he was and where 0:19:43.760 --> 0:19:45.840 he came from, and then it was good. But you, 0:19:46.160 --> 0:19:48.000 swimming is like one of those skills where you can't 0:19:48.000 --> 0:19:50.399 take It's like stand up, like you can't take a 0:19:50.440 --> 0:19:52.040 week off the thing. You're about to come and just 0:19:52.119 --> 0:19:55.440 crush it like this is what you gotta keep. You 0:19:55.520 --> 0:19:59.159 gotta keep using this muscle. So yeah, and I do 0:19:59.280 --> 0:20:02.159 think into your point, I do think that's something I 0:20:02.520 --> 0:20:05.000 want to consider. I want to find myself in the 0:20:05.119 --> 0:20:07.960 space where I can go like, oh, all right, this 0:20:08.040 --> 0:20:11.720 is an excuse not only for this person to to 0:20:12.000 --> 0:20:16.880 begin to break uh a history, right and ugly history 0:20:16.880 --> 0:20:20.439 of black people either being associated with not swimming or 0:20:20.560 --> 0:20:23.639 actually not swimming, but on top of that, a chance 0:20:23.680 --> 0:20:27.760 for me to to now reconsider some of the decisions 0:20:27.840 --> 0:20:30.679 I've made as an adult of like I don't swim, 0:20:30.840 --> 0:20:33.080 that's not my thing. Like, no, maybe I could be 0:20:33.119 --> 0:20:35.200 a swimmer and I can use this baby as a 0:20:35.359 --> 0:20:37.800 as an excuse to do that. It's never so great. 0:20:39.440 --> 0:20:42.000 Have you seen those videos when they just like throw 0:20:42.440 --> 0:20:46.520 newborns in like a big gas pool. Yes, and then 0:20:46.600 --> 0:20:48.800 naturally they say, I'm like, I don't know what they 0:20:48.920 --> 0:20:50.720 I don't know what part of the world this is. 0:20:51.080 --> 0:20:53.719 But it's so crazy because growing up, that would be 0:20:53.840 --> 0:20:58.000 the trauma behind all of my friends and swimming. It 0:20:58.040 --> 0:21:00.520 would be like I was thrown into the pool and 0:21:00.560 --> 0:21:03.199 that was like the last time they swam, because it 0:21:03.320 --> 0:21:06.200 was like swim right. So you have those people who 0:21:06.280 --> 0:21:08.760 kind of like doing their own stroke and they're like 0:21:08.840 --> 0:21:10.440 I made it, and then other people like I will 0:21:10.480 --> 0:21:12.919 never touch the water again because that was trauma sizing 0:21:13.040 --> 0:21:16.880 so right, and that that's the weird dance that we're 0:21:16.920 --> 0:21:19.200 I think we're all dealing in. It's like you want 0:21:19.200 --> 0:21:20.920 to be able to learn to swim, but you don't 0:21:21.000 --> 0:21:24.760 want trauma attached to it. And unfortunately, for black people, 0:21:24.880 --> 0:21:27.840 I think very few things that we have are at 0:21:27.880 --> 0:21:31.000 least somewhat associated with trauma. Isn't that that's just this 0:21:31.160 --> 0:21:33.800 and that's the conspiracy right there. They just they just 0:21:33.800 --> 0:21:37.520 want to kill us mentally. It's crazy. Hey, hold on, 0:21:38.880 --> 0:21:44.080 that's how they get you, because, oh boy, is there 0:21:44.160 --> 0:21:46.399 is there not a lot that isn't at least somewhat 0:21:46.440 --> 0:21:52.359 associated with the destruction of our minds and nothing can't 0:21:52.400 --> 0:21:54.680 have nothing. All right, We're gonna take a break. We'll 0:21:54.720 --> 0:21:57.600 be back with more amina and more, my mama told me. 0:22:08.440 --> 0:22:22.960 And we are back, my god, Oh yeah, we're back 0:22:23.000 --> 0:22:25.720 here with more amina, money, more. My mama told me. 0:22:25.800 --> 0:22:28.960 We're still talking about the possibility that black people can 0:22:29.080 --> 0:22:32.600 in fact swim, and Amina is proof of that, her 0:22:32.800 --> 0:22:36.119 and her twin sister proven and there in the sun too, 0:22:36.200 --> 0:22:42.640 everybody's proving that black people do have the potential to swim. 0:22:42.640 --> 0:22:46.040 When when you were growing up as a swimmer, were 0:22:46.080 --> 0:22:49.040 you made fun of? Were you guys picked on for 0:22:49.160 --> 0:22:51.800 being the weirdos who were excited to be in water 0:22:51.880 --> 0:22:54.679 when everybody else was like, nah, that'sh it's weird, we 0:22:54.680 --> 0:22:59.919 don't do that. No, so we weren't. So we weren't 0:23:00.040 --> 0:23:04.159 picked on because it wasn't something that everybody saw like 0:23:04.240 --> 0:23:07.000 we swam but it was always at a distance to 0:23:07.080 --> 0:23:11.040 school and wherever else we were. So when we were swimming, 0:23:11.119 --> 0:23:13.640 it was with other people who were swimming. But what 0:23:13.680 --> 0:23:20.600 we were picked on was about like our appearance. Yeah, 0:23:20.640 --> 0:23:25.359 the ashy, this your hair, you know. Yeah, like even 0:23:25.520 --> 0:23:28.919 to down to how we dressed, because swimming is not 0:23:29.000 --> 0:23:32.479 really the most affordable or it wasn't the most affordable sport. 0:23:32.840 --> 0:23:35.359 And it was three of us and so um my 0:23:35.400 --> 0:23:37.879 mom was a single mom at the time, so it 0:23:38.000 --> 0:23:40.399