Reasons – first two reasons from New York Times article Aug 2012

1. Slave owners did not want them to learn how to swim – they could escape

2. US beaches, until recent decades, were white-only

3. 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 VitaminDWiki

• 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