Black-owned Philadelphia rowing organization works to diversify the sport

In Philadelphia, Brannon Johnson is working to make one of the nation's least diverse sports more accessible.

Johnson is the founder of BLJ Community Rowing, the first Black-owned rowing organization in the country and one of Philadelphia's most diverse community rowing programs.

"How do we get Black people into rowing?" Johnson said. That question helped inspire a mission that has now introduced more than 1,000 people to the sport.

Johnson is an athlete, coach and former Division I rower who earned a scholarship to the University of Texas. She also competed in England's prestigious Henley Royal Regatta.

While traveling and competing at a high level, Johnson said she rarely saw other athletes who looked like her.

"Traveling around the world and seeing no one that looked like me, I stumbled into my mission," she said.

Johnson launched BLJ Community Rowing in 2013, hoping to remove some of the barriers that have historically prevented people from participating in the sport.

"I think it's access," Johnson said. "You have to be able to see it. It's incredibly expensive."

Through BLJ Community Rowing, young participants can learn to row for free.

Johnson said the program is about more than teaching technique on the water. It is also designed to help young people develop the confidence and skills they need to navigate a society that may not always be set up for their success.

For athletes like Jabrael Thomas, the program has introduced him to a sport he once knew little about.

"I was surprised there were Black people that rowed," Thomas said.

Thomas has been rowing for four years. He said some of his friends questioned why he traded basketball for time on the water.

"My friends are like, 'You stopped playing basketball for this?'" he said.

Thomas said he has not looked back.

"It's calming, soothing, hearing the water as you row," he said.

The sport may also help shape his future.

"I'm hoping to take it into college," Thomas said.

For Johnson, creating those opportunities is exactly the goal: helping more young people see themselves in rowing, gain access to the sport and potentially use it to open doors in college and beyond.