Good Morning Nashville! ☀️
Once again, it’s Monday morning and #BMVT continues to roll out new content for your listening ears . As always , we thank you for your support , shares of episodes , and generous feedback you all have given in order to make Black Men Vent Too better . Keep praying for us and with us as we aim to change the narrative of what black men are all about each and every episode .
On today’s episode of #BMVT Nashville we bring on a guest that , in our culture , what he does may be out of the ordinary to some . We have been stereotyped for years as a culture of not being able to swim or know how to swim . Kenneth Stewart embraced not only that stereotype , but found a passion in swimming as a black man . But not just any type of swimming , Mr. Stewart for years has created programs centered around deep sea diving for lost artifacts of SLAVE SHIPS all across the world . Nashville … our guest has even been featured on an episode of National Geographic, the world’s premiere destination for science, exploration, and adventure (click the link below to see the full episode).
Ken Stewart is from The Bronx, NY and has called North Nashville home for the last 30 years. He is an IT professional by trade with companies including, IBM. He is now chosing to give back after retirement in a very extraordinary way by shaping the lives of Nashville youth through aquatics and maritime archaeology. He established the Tennessee Aquatics Project (TAP) and later Diving With A Purpose (DWP), a non-profit organization connecting recreational scuba diving to the tenets of STEM. His efforts are currently recognized and displayed in the new National Museum of African-American History and Culture in D.C. for the work both DWPers and YDWPers (as Ken refers to his community of participants) did with the Slave Wreck Project. Chatting with Ken was a true blessing, as I felt I was literally hearing about true history in the making from an even more genuine soul. In this age, you are hard pressed to run into people who are selfless and are driven by the betterment of the human experience.
TAP officially started in 1995 in Nashville with a mission to give youth a 360 degree approach to living their best life and as he shares, “Diving was just a natural way to do it”. He has worked with Whites Creek, Hunters Lane and Pearl Cohn high schools to identify students each year to participate in the program. TAP has helped over 25+ youth each year since its inception.
We would hope that today’s episode, and others, will give you guys inspiration behind learning more about our black history .
Nashville … Have You Heard A Black Man Vent Today? 🌱
Learn more about Kenneth Stewart’s story by clicking the following links:
National Geographic Episode: https://youtu.be/u2l_EugvRw8
Diving With A Purpose: https://divingwithapurpose.org
Honorary Mention as a “Scuba Diving Hero”: https://www.scubadiving.com/ken-stewart-honored-as-scuba-diving-sea-hero
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YouTube: https://youtu.be/DVapy-aFFwQ
