In this special summer edition of Left of Black, host and Duke University Professor Mark Anthony Neal is joined via Skype by Talia Mark, Manager of Multicultural Marketing for USA Swimming and former manager of diversity affairs for NASCAR.  Neal and Mark discuss the epidemic-like levels of drowning rates among Black and Latino/a youth, hair-care issues associated with Black female swimmers, and the success of Olympic Gold Medalist Cullen Jones and 17-year-old Lia Neal.

Left of Black is a weekly webcast hosted by Mark Anthony Neal and produced in collaboration with the John Hope Franklin Center at Duke University. Episodes are also available for free download in HD @ iTunes U.