USRowing’s Shop for a Change Launches Today

USRowing’s Shop for a Change launches today with two businesses BRAID and Open Water: Histories of AfroAquatics focused on making water sports more accessible to the Black community. USRowing’s Shop for a Change supports minority and women-owned businesses that align with our desire to open boathouse doors and this year’s campaign will run through May 2025. Artist Ebony Iman Dallas and Open Water’s project partners were featured during the RowFest National Championships in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma this past summer. 

BRAID stands for Black Rowers Amplifying Inclusion and Diversity, they’re committed to creating a safe, supportive, and empowering space for Black girls to connect, grow, and thrive in the rowing world. Their mission is to amplify the message that Black rowers are invaluable and essential to this sport. Co-founded by Amari Randall and Joy Neal, their vision is a rowing community where Black athletes are seen, celebrated, and supported. To support their goal, shop here. 

Open Water: Histories of AfroAquatics is a project that brings historians, artists, and community organisers together to share lost histories of BIPOC watersports and to empower young people to thrive in and on the water. Their goal is to help to overturn these damaging myths and to celebrate the forgotten histories of Black aquatics.

For thousands of years, Black women, men, and children have shown their expertise and skill on the water. Too often this history has been lost. Even today, some members of the Black community are afraid of boating, don’t know how to swim, or see watersports as a “white” activity. In the United States, Black Americans are roughly 10 times more likely to drown than white Americans. Since the 1990s, the US Center for Disease Control has continued to label this disproportionately high drowning death rate an epidemic.

The AfroAquatics puzzles, designed and painted by Oklahoma-based artist Ebony Iman Dallas, are based on real historic information found in rare books and manuscripts from research libraries around the world. The three puzzles form a timeline, illustrating the proud history of Black aquatics and watersports. To support their mission, click here. 

Learn more about the women behind Open Water and BRAID here.