Johnnie Christmas's graphic novel Swim Team is buoyed by themes of community, perseverance and overcoming fear
'I want people to know it's never too late.'
Bestselling author Johnnie Christmas has an interesting history with water. As a child, an incident where he almost drowned left him with a fear of the water and a reluctance to learn how to swim. It wasn't until taking swim lessons as an adult that his relationship with the water began to change.
His latest book is the middle-grade graphic novel Swim Team. In it, a young Black girl named Bree moves from Brooklyn to Florida and struggles with fitting in at her new school. That is, until she reluctantly ends up in the school's swim club and discovers a love for the water. Encouraged and mentored by Ms. Etta, a local former champion swimmer, Bree learns important lessons about forgiveness, sisterhood, community and perseverance.
The graphic novel is fun and lighthearted, all while touching on how historical and systemic forces like segregation and lack of access to pools have impacted many Black Americans' ability to learn how to swim.
Johnnie Christmas is a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator, raised in Florida and currently based in Vancouver. He is the creator of comics like Firebug, Sheltered and Pisces. He is the illustrator of Angel Catbird, a graphic novel series written by novelist Margaret Atwood about a cat/bird/human superhero.
Christmas spoke with CBC Books about writing Swim Team.
A close call
"When I was five years old, I almost drowned in a pool. And that stayed with me and it informed my relationship with the water since then. It wasn't until I was an adult that I started taking swim classes.
"But at the time, I thought it was my fault as a kid. I don't build swimming pools — I don't have access to that. Who controls the access? Who decides which neighbourhoods pools are placed in? Where I lived growing up — in Miami, Florida — that was out of my control.
"I wanted to write a book for young readers who are probably in the same situation because unfortunately, at least in the States, access isn't what it should be.
When I was five years old, I almost drowned in a pool. And that stayed with me and it informed my relationship with the water since then.
"I wanted to have something for those readers to see themselves reflected and to possibly see that if they do have access to a pool, there's a road for them."
Need for access
"If I and many youngsters had access, then it would just be another mechanical thing they do. When you learn to walk, you don't even remember when it happened because you had so much access to it that it was just something that you did. And if we have access as little kids to swimming, and you're swimming all the time with safe instruction, it's just another thing you do.
I wanted to have that front and centre in the book — that it's not inherent that Black people can't swim — it's a lack of access.
"But if the first time you encounter a pool, you're [a child] with no instruction, it could be catastrophic that first time. I wanted to have that front and centre in the book — that it's not inherent that Black people can't swim — it's a lack of access. And as soon as we get our kids and our adults and everyone in our community the same level of access, then they'll have the same level of proficiency in the water."
Seeking mentors
"I wanted Bree and Ms. Etta's relationship to be part mentor — someone that you could see yourself becoming — and also a nurturing, historical informational figure. When it starts off, it's kind of like a mildly annoying neighbour in the building. But she becomes very central to Bree because Dad is off working. And now you've got Ms. Etta sort of stepping in to fill that void in terms of parental role, but also a mentor role.
Growing up in Black neighbourhoods, there were always Black women like that who are kind of holding everything together.
"Ms. Etta is someone who believes in Bree as she's trying to figure it out. She's this one person who is as stable as a rock. Ms. Etta's one of my favourite characters because she's so interesting and she's got her own life. She's got her own issues as well that she's trying to work through.
"But every time Bree is looking at her, she's the rock. And growing up in Black neighbourhoods, there were always Black women like that who are kind of holding everything together. So she's kind of a composite of so many people I knew like that growing up."
The power of community
"I hope people think about the power of connectivity, the power of perseverance, of forgiveness and communication. I want people to know it's never too late. If there's something you don't know how to do, you can learn how to do it. When I was a kid, I thought that people were good or bad at certain things. I didn't realize you could just get better at it if you worked at it. And I think I would have been a better student — I would have been a lot better at a lot of things had I known that.
I hope people think about the power of connectivity, the power of perseverance, of forgiveness and communication.
"So that's one of the real big lessons of the book, where Bree thinks, 'Oh, well — Black people can't swim,' or 'I don't know how to do this,' or 'I don't know how to do that.' But she learns how, and it's hard.
"She fails at a bunch of stuff, but she keeps trying — and little by little, she gets a little bit better at it. And next thing you know, she's a lot better at it than she was at the start. The main thing I want to get across is that perseverance and that doggedness, but also the importance of community.
"All throughout the book, one of the things I really wanted to hammer home was connection and how important that is and how everything kind of comes undone when people lean out instead of leaning in. And every time they lean in, that's where the solutions start to happen.
"And that's on every level — whether it be blood, family, a swim team or a community."
Johnnie Christmas's comments have been edited for length and clarity.
For stories about the experiences of Black Canadians, check out CBC's Being Black in Canada.
