With summer just days away, a sobering new report warns about the danger of children drowning in pools – especially Black children, who are most vulnerable.

In its annual drowning and submersion report released June 7, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) underscored that childhood drownings remain high. It also highlighted the stubbornly persistent racial disparities in drowning fatalities, which experts say is rooted in historical exclusion.

While Black Americans represent about 14 percent of the U.S. population, Black children accounted for 21 percent of all drowning fatalities among the 63 percent of cases in which the child’s race was identified, according to the study. Black children accounted for 45 percent of the deaths of drowning victims aged 5 to 14.

“These data highlight the need to reach historically excluded communities with water safety information and support,” the report states.

Institutional racism is at the root of drowning fatalities, according to a separate YMCA study conducted by the USA Swimming Foundation and the University of Memphis. The low participation rate of Black families in swimming classes stems from historic exclusion and privatization of swimming lessons and pools.

The legacy of racial segregation and violence connected to using municipal swimming pools continues to have a generational impact, researchers found. If a parent doesn’t know how to swim, there is only a 13 percent chance that their child will learn how to swim. At the same time, Black children have just a few Black professional swimmers who can serve as role models.

Across all races and ethnicities, drownings continue to be the leading cause of death among children ages 1 to 4 years old, the CPSC study found. The agency reported an average of 371 fatal drownings in pools or spas between 2018 and 2020. The number of estimated non-fatal drowning injuries in 2022 is 6,400, which was statistically the same as 2021.

“The fatalities from drowning and non-fatal drowning injuries are still high, so water safety vigilance remains crucially important this summer and all year,” CPSC Chair Alex Hoehn-Saric said in a statement. ”CPSC urges parents and caregivers to follow Pool Safely safety steps. And I especially encourage everyone to use layers of protection.”

Hoehn-Saric recommended the installation of proper barriers, covers, and alarms on or around pools, and selecting an adult to supervise children in the water. Parents and caregivers should also review CPSC’s pool safety tips.