These Black Women Are Making Their Mark in the Diving World

The Devils Hole pupfish is the rarest fish on the planet, with fewer than 200 in the world. Though the stats are not quite as stark, Black women divers are also a rarity. More than 85 percent of professional divers in the U.S. are men, 63 percent of all divers are white, and 9 percent Black, according to Zippia.

Despite these small numbers, Black women are making their mark in organizations like Diving With a Purpose, founded by Ken Stewart in 2003 to provide education, training, certification, and field experience to adults and youth in maritime archaeology and ocean conservation. DWP focuses on the protection, documentation and interpretation of African slave trade shipwrecks and the maritime history and culture of African Americans.

Ayana Omilade Flewellen, PhD., Rebecca Hunter, and Shirikiana Gerima are aqua adventurers who dive with DWP and volunteer as mentors and instructors with the organization, shared stories of how they came to diving, their experiences diving around the world, searching for slave wrecks, teaching the next generation and more.

Read more at The Daily Beast.