Thicker than Water: A Memoir

In her memoir, Kerry Washington frequently describes how much she loves the ocean and the water, but she alludes to the complicated relationship that many Black Americans have with it, since its connotations often hearken back to histories of enslavement and segregation within the US.

The transatlantic slave trade facilitated the enslavement of millions of Africans to slaveholders in the US, England, and around the world. Part of this trade route included the Middle Passage, the portion of the journey that took place on the ocean. A common tribute to those who endured part of that journey is by honoring “those that chose the sea,” referring to those who chose to jump overboard rather than be enslaved. The phrase is often invoked on Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the day in 1865 on which Texas received news of emancipation, finally ending slavery in the US. As a result, the ocean symbolizes a complex place where many chose their freedom over their physical life (Millward, Jessica. “From the Ocean Floor: Death, Memory and the Atlantic Slave Trade.” Black Perspectives, 8 Mar. 2017).

In addition, though the Civil Rights Act of 1964 required the integration of public pools, they were often a part of de facto segregation, which referred to segregation that happened regardless of the official legal ruling on the matter. Tactics like changing public institutions to private ones meant that someone would need a membership to use the pool. In these cases, membership costs were high enough that families of lower socioeconomic status could not afford them, including most people of color. Other times, staff simply wouldn’t allow people of color to enter, and other (white) patrons would not stop this blatant discrimination.