By Tavon N. Thomasson
Special to the AFRO
tthomasson@afro.com
A documentary debuting April 15 at Morgan State University (MSU) will spotlight the school’s historic swim program, telling the story of a team whose championship success and legacy are not widely known.
The film, “Against the Tide: The Story of the Morgan State Swimming Program,” is being produced by Morgan Legacy Swimmers, a group of former MSU swimmers and divers working to preserve the legacy of one of the school’s most successful athletic programs. From 1952 to 1976, the swimming and diving program won eight combined Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championships. For those behind the project, the team’s success made clear that its story could no longer go untold.
“The history of it just grabbed me, and as I began to look at it, I said, ‘Man, we need to talk about this. We need to celebrate this,’” said David Thomas, co-chairperson of Morgan Legacy Swimmers and a member of Morgan State’s 1972 swim team.
“One of the reasons why we are so adamant about this is because the program no longer exists. One of the things we want to do as a group is promote and advocate for any type of aquatic program that we can,” he continued.
What started as a reunion around the team’s induction into MSU’s 32nd Annual Athletic Hall of Fame soon became something bigger. As former swimmers and divers came together from across the program’s championship years, they began to see a need for a documentary that could preserve a history that many Morgan alumni were unfamiliar with.
“People don’t know this story. They don’t know about the eight championships. They don’t know about six . They don’t know that everybody had to take swimming,” said Greg Jones, vice chairperson of Morgan Legacy Swimmers and producer of the documentary.
The documentary is not only about championships. It also reflects the lasting brotherhood the men built through the program.
“When you’re a unique group in water, knowing the challenges we’ve had around water and swimming, it does increase the bond that you have,” Jones said. “When I walked onto that swim team, it was my first sort of brotherhood at Morgan. They took me in like I had to high school with them. It was genuine camaraderie and engagement around swimmers.”
Jones said he hopes the film leaves viewers with not only a stronger understanding of Morgan’s swim legacy, but also a deeper appreciation for the perseverance behind it.
“I think about the situations we’re in now, with the current social and political environment, and I think about what the folks before us did,” Jones said. “I’m hopeful that just a little piece of this film gives folk that sense that we may always be swimming against the tide. But guess what? We still can accomplish success in doing that.”
Get your tickets for the early screening of Against the Tide: The Story of the Morgan State Swimming Program here.