Olympic water polo star Ashleigh Johnson makes a splash as a role model for Black children

Growing up in Miami, Ashleigh Johnson and her four siblings took swimming lessons as kids, primarily to ease the mind of their mother, who feared they could drown in the family pool while she was at work.

Those lessons led to falling in love with swimming, which led to joining the local Riptides swim team at nearby Cutler Ridge, which eventually led them to a unique sport for Black youths: water polo.

Johnson’s sister and three brothers all took lessons from Carroll Vaughan and thrived in the sport . . .