Who We Are
We are Evolutionary Aquatics (EA). We are a movement. We
are a U.S Masters registered workout group. We are kayaking
members of the American Canoe Association. We are
certified instructors and coaches. We are a community.
Our Mission
The mission of Evolutionary Aquatics, LLC is to reteach Black adults their authentic and genetic aquatic culture. We educate everyone on the historical and societal “Blacks don’t swim” lies that have prevailed since the Jim Crow era. Located in Charlotte, NC, we provide low to no-cost adult swim lessons, a strong Black-centered swim community, and recreational aquatic programming for everyone. We believe every adult should, at a minimum, know how to be safe and comfortable in the water, and at a maximum, learn to swim and utilize swimming as a self and generational life-saving skill.
Our Story
In 2014, we addressed the lack of swim and social aquatic programs aimed at mature Black women by creating the Mahogany Mermaids.
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In 2018, we became the only registered all-Black women swim club registered with US Masters Swimming (USMS)
In 2019, Mahogany Mermaids expanded to include Black men.
In 2020-2021, we applied for a generous grant from USMS aimed at teaching adults to swim. Since we were not a business, we partnered with Miller Swimming LLC to accept the grant on our behalf. We won our full grant amount, which many generous donors from the Charlotte, NC swim community then matched.
From this partnership with Miller Swimming, Evolutionary Aquatics, a nonprofit organization was born.
We have the vision to create an encouraging, inclusive, and diverse culture that pervades the recreational aquatic world as a whole. Aquatic activities are fun and collaborative. We firmly believe that everyone, regardless of their income, zip code, history, and culture, deserves the opportunity to participate in such activities and join a fulfilling community that simultaneously corrects historic inequalities.
