Reclaiming the Waters

Photo: Sierra Leone Swim Federation.

Reclaiming the Waters is a  feature documentary by Pamela K. Johnson currently in production. It will explore efforts to get Black people swimming in the U.S. and West Africa, as well as historic and current barriers that lead to drowning disparities.

With footage shot in Southern California, the Gullah Geechee Corridor (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina) and West Africa, the film will also explore the cultural ties that have been been renewing on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. 

With her previous films about Black and Brown swimmers, The Sea is Our Garden and Wind & Waves, Pamela is excited to tell stories of people of color reclaiming spaces where they have previously been left out. She has received initial support as a 2023-2024 O’Brien Public Service Journalism fellowship at Marquette University, and from the Economic Hardship Reporting Project. Additional financial support is needed to complete this project.