'My world is unlimited now:' Swim program for Black women in Hamilton builds confidence and community

Most Sunday afternoons this spring, the water at the Pinky Lewis Recreation Centre pool in Hamilton became a space for transformation. 

For the women of Melanin Mermaids, it wasn't just a place for physical movement, but also for emotional release, cultural healing and quiet defiance against a history that has long kept many Black women away from the water. 

Through laughter, floating, applause, and even the playful swish of mermaid tails, the women learned to swim.

The free, eight-week swim program, launched by non-profit Melanin Market, was designed exclusively for Black women in Hamilton. It was the first time the organization ran the program, with the last session earlier this month. 

Tanicia Reedon joined hoping to overcome her own childhood hesitations around swimming.

"Seeing other Black women — some with my level of experience, some with less — but seeing everyone win and learn was so powerful," she said. "As a newly postpartum, first-time mama, this has been so healing."

Reedon was one of 32 registrants of the program, ranging from ages 23 to 60. The class offered more than a place to learn front crawl or float in the deep end. It was a culturally specific, private, affirming space that the organizer Khadija Hamidu said prioritized joy, safety, and sisterhood for a community that has often been overlooked in aquatic programs. 

Hamidu, the founder of Melanin Market and vice-president of economic development at YWCA Hamilton, envisioned the program as both a practical intervention and a spiritual offering.

"Our goal has always been to celebrate Blackness and inspire entrepreneurship," she said. "This program is about supporting Black women in learning a life skill that hasn't historically been accessible or welcoming."

Hamidu, who moved to Hamilton over a decade ago from Toronto, said her motivation for the program came from personal experience.

"I've been to swim classes where no one looked like me. I didn't feel excluded, but I also didn't feel like I belonged long-term. That stayed with me," she said. "A lot of my friends don't know how to swim. I thought, Ontario is surrounded by water. Why isn't there a program that supports us in this space?"

Hamidu said her idea was met with open arms. After receiving the City Enrichment Fund grant, the city provided the pool space and lifeguards. For Hamidu, it was critical that the environment feel safe and culturally affirming. That meant privacy, female instructors and accommodations for Muslim participants, who made up about 40 per cent of the cohort.

"One woman told me it was the first time she's been around a group of women without wearing a wig," Hamidu said. "That level of comfort and vulnerability — that's what this is about."

It was also about representation.

"There are no Black female lifeguards available through the City of Hamilton — that shocked me," she said, adding she hopes that future iterations might be able to connect with Black lifeguards. "It's one of the reasons I pushed so hard to create this space."

'I was terrified. But I showed up'

For women like Aaliyah Hall, of Jamaican descent and a Hamilton resident for the past seven years, the class has been life-changing. 

She grew up with traumatic associations around water after a childhood swim instructor used her, without consent, to demonstrate how to float. Family history made things worse: both her grandfather and uncle drowned.

"I honestly didn't think I could do it," Hall said. "I saw the program promoted, but I passed on it. Then a friend told me she signed up, and she encouraged me. Two days before the first class, I registered. I was terrified but I showed up."

That decision shifted something deep.

"Having a safe space created specifically for Black women was one of the best parts of the program for me," she said. "There were little things like the hair products available after class, the blinds being closed, and being surrounded by women who just get it. It made me feel like I could finally let my guard down."

With each week, Hall gained confidence, jumping into the deep end, floating for the first time, and discovering a love of being in the water.

"When someone would accomplish something, everyone clapped," she said. "We all celebrated each other. That sense of togetherness, I've never experienced anything like it."

For Reedon, the new mom, the class also gave her so much, she said. 

"I gained friendships, time for myself, and I can now tread water for five minutes straight, swim front and back crawl, and even dive. That felt impossible before."

Learning to swim has also opened new possibilities for her family.

"I feel confident to swim with and teach my sweet daughter," Reedon said. "I can travel unafraid. My world is unlimited now."

At one point, participants even strapped on mermaid tails.

"Once we were in the water, we learned so fast," Hamidu laughed. "By week four, even the lifeguards were cheering us on and showing us Olympic strokes."

Hamidu said she is planning for another cohort in the fall. She hopes the program will inspire more community sponsorship and corporate support, particularly from businesses that Black communities already sustain. 

She envisions future sessions supported by Black-owned beauty brands or companies, with natural hair products on site and workshops on chlorine care for textured hair.

"Black women love to swim," she said. "Once we remove the fear, the joy takes over."

Now that the current session has wrapped, Melanin Mermaids is taking a brief hiatus while Melanin Market continues other work like hosting upcoming vendor events at Sankofa Square in Toronto throughout the summer.

For Hamidu — who juggles full-time leadership at YWCA with running Melanin Market at night — all the work is deeply personal.

"I care about the community. I care about creating space for us to just exist, to be held, to heal."

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.