Trish Miller Turned Trauma Into Transformation — And SwemSchool Is Making Water Safer for Black Families in Metro Atlanta

I love when Black women build something that changes the whole game — not for clout, not for headlines, but because they refuse to watch our community keep taking losses that could’ve been prevented.

So let me put you on to somebody doing real work: Trish Miller, founder of SwemSchool, metro Atlanta’s largest Black-owned swim school.

This is one of those “thank God somebody did it” stories, because swimming is not just a summer activity — it’s survival. And our children deserve to be safe in every space, including the water.

Trish Miller took pain and built a lifeline.

And I want to be loud about that—because in a world where we’re constantly fed tragedy, it matters when somebody chooses to build something that keeps our babies alive.

Trish Miller is the founder and CEO of SwemSchool, described as metro Atlanta’s largest Black-owned swim school. Her story is rooted in trauma, but her work is rooted in love—real, practical love that shows up as lessons, safety skills, confidence, and community.

This is the kind of Black History Month story that isn’t just “inspiring.” It’s urgent. It’s protective. It’s literally lifesaving.

Why SwemSchool matters so much

Let’s talk about why this work hits different.

Swimming gets treated like a luxury skill—something you do on vacation, something optional, something “extra.”

But in real life, swimming is a survival skill. And the data proves what so many of us already know from experience: the risk is not evenly distributed.

Black children face some of the highest drowning disparities in the country—especially in pools.

One of the most quoted and widely repeated facts is this: around 70% of Black children have little to no swimming ability. That number exists because researchers actually studied it and found Black children were far more likely to report low or no swim skills.

Now, I’m going to be real: whether that figure is 70% or 64% depending on the study and how they define “ability,” the message does not change. The majority of Black kids are not confident swimmers. And when you combine that with how often we’re around water—pools, lakes, hotel trips, cookouts, water parks, beaches—this becomes a safety crisis, not a lifestyle discussion.

And the CDC has been clear that disparities are severe: in swimming pools, Black children ages 10–14 drown at far higher rates than White children—a number so extreme it should’ve triggered a nationwide emergency response years ago.

That’s why SwemSchool isn’t just “a Black-owned business to support.” It’s a Black-owned business that protects Black life.

The truth nobody wants to say out loud: fear of water didn’t come from nowhere

Let’s have an honest conversation without shaming anybody.

A lot of Black families carry water fear. It isn’t random, and it isn’t weakness.

It’s history.

For generations, public pools were segregated or closed down rather than integrated. Access to swim lessons wasn’t equally available. Neighborhood investment wasn’t equal. Representation in aquatics wasn’t equal.

So what happens?

A parent can’t swim → they don’t feel safe teaching their child → they avoid water or keep distance → the child grows up without lessons → and the fear quietly gets passed down like “that’s just what we do.”

And then, when a tragedy happens, the world acts like it’s individual failure instead of a structural pattern.

SwemSchool disrupts that cycle.

Not with judgment.

With instruction.

With comfort.

With community.

Trish Miller’s genius isn’t that she’s “perfect” — it’s that she’s intentional

One of the most powerful parts of this story is that Trish Miller didn’t build SwemSchool from a place of elitism or “I’m an Olympic swimmer, let me show y’all.”

She built it from the place a lot of parents are actually in:

“I know how fast things can go wrong… and I refuse to let my community stay unprotected.”

That kind of leadership is rare because it’s not about ego. It’s about mission.

And I love that she’s not only focused on kids. Programs that include adults matter too because the strongest safety culture is intergenerational. When parents learn alongside their children, the whole household becomes more confident and more prepared.

That’s how you change outcomes. Not with one viral moment. With consistent community-building.

Why this is “Black excellence” in the most real way

Black excellence is not only red carpets, awards, and Forbes lists.

Sometimes Black excellence looks like:

• a child learning how to float for the first time

• a parent exhaling because they finally feel their baby is safer

• a teen who used to be scared of pools now swimming with confidence

• a grandmother learning late in life and healing something deep

• a Black-owned institution making sure our families don’t keep losing people to something preventable

That’s what SwemSchool represents.

It’s not just “representation.” It’s protection.

And in a city like Atlanta, where families are constantly at pools, lakes, hotel stays, Airbnbs, and summer activities—this work needs to be normalized like seatbelts. Like car seats. Like CPR classes. Like smoke detectors.

Because drowning isn’t always loud. It isn’t always dramatic. It’s often fast, silent, and unforgiving.

So anything that increases swim ability and water safety is literally a shield.

What you can do right now (for every parent, auntie, uncle, godparent, and big cousin)

If you’re reading this and thinking “I need to handle this,” here’s your practical checklist:

1. Put swim lessons on the same priority level as sports.Basketball can wait. Safety cannot.

2. Get the adults in the family lessons too.A child is safer when the grownups are safer.

3. Stop relying on floaties as a plan.Floaties are not skills. They are toys.

4. If your child is around water, supervision is non-negotiable.Not “watching from the chair while scrolling.” Active watching.

5. Learn CPR.I don’t care how busy you are. One class can change everything.

   
   

The bigger point: our kids deserve safety in every space

Black children deserve to be safe at the cookout.

Safe at the pool party.

Safe at the hotel.

Safe at the lake.

Safe on vacation.

Safe at summer camp.

Safe in every space where water exists.

And it shouldn’t take a tragedy for us to prioritize it.

That’s why I’m celebrating Trish Miller and SwemSchool loudly. Because this is what it looks like when somebody turns trauma into transformation and refuses to let fear win.

This is community work.

This is prevention.

This is love with a business plan.

And metro Atlanta is better because she built it.

Sources

• CBS News Atlanta — “SwemSchool: Metro-Atlanta’s largest Black-owned swim school” (Feb. 2026).

• CDC — “Health Disparities in Drowning” (updated Jan. 27, 2026).

• USA Swimming Foundation / University of Memphis study reference via PR Newswire (2010 results; posted 2017) — “70% of African-American children had little to no swimming ability.”

• YMCA summary of the USA Swimming Foundation / University of Memphis research (cites 64% in a national study).

• CDC “Drowning Facts” PDF (includes disparity stats and pool-specific rates).

If you want, I can also write a short IG/FB caption version (no links) that’s upbeat, celebratory, and still drops the key stat in a clean, punchy way with “Shalena Speaks” included.