Happy Friday Obots!
In 2010, the California African American Museum opened an exhibit on the history of African-Americans in Skateboarding, “How We Roll”. Covering four decades, it surveys the history and achievements of the art, photography, and culture of skateboarding as an all inclusive sport.
Now, I admit….I had no idea about all of these skateboarders. I knew about Terry Kennedy which prompted this topic in the first place. However, there are quite a few AA professional skateboarders (which by the way is an $11 billion dollar industry) – with sponsorships and skateboard lines of their own, its quite a lucrative sport. I will highlight a few, but please read more on these incredible athletes.
While many young African American athletes living in the nation’s inner-cities aspire to become professional athletes in the NBA or NFL, you rarely hear professional skateboarding enter the conversation.
Meet professional skateboarder Darren Harper (aka “D-Streets”). Born and raised in the rough parts of Southeast D.C., Harper defies many of the stereotypes, as he is one of the few premier African American skaters. As Barack Obama recently became the first African American President-elect and has inspired many young African Americans to follow in his footsteps, Harper also hopes to one day make skateboarding a popular career choice among his younger brethren.
Read the rest of Darren’s journey from his hard childhood to skateboarder extraordinaire here.
Twenty-seven-year-old Terry Kennedy came from humble beginnings in Long Beach, CA, where he started to skate at age 14 because it was an alternative to drugs and violence. TK is a flamboyant pro who didn’t do his first pro contest until June 2008. It was the Copenhagen Pro, where he finished 15th. He has since done X Games (finishing 18th in 2008) and X Games Mexico (10th place). He has a rap group called Fly Society and has appeared in music buy viagra pakistan videos, including ones for Snoop Dog and Drama.
Stevie Williams grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and started skateboarding at the age of 11. He has become one of the most well known and admired skateboarders in the world.
Williams is the owner and founder of DGK Skateboards, a Philadelphia-based skateboard company. In 2004, Williams’ manager, Peter Golden, sold Reebok the idea and master plan of how to enter into the already multi-billion dollar skateboarding market with the signing of his superstar client and skateboarding legend Williams. Golden along with Williams helped Reebok design a complete product line including DGK Skate Shoes and clothing. Williams was the first professional skateboarder to be sponsored by Reebok. He was subsequently asked to give some advice for the “Flipside” Air Jordan skate sneaker.
In 2006, Williams opened the skate shop L&K Limited in Oceanside, California, together with Nick Lockman,and in 2008, he opened the skate shop Sk8tique in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Spades: The History of Blacks in Skateboarding
Director: Ernie Brown
The Spades looks at the transformation of African-Americans in skateboarding and their ever growing position in the changing face of the sport. The film opens with the infamous historical AP news footage of motel manager, Jimmy E. Brock, pouring acid on black and white protestors in the pool in a little part of the Civil Rights movement seldom talked about
The film will then starts journey from the infamous “”Dogtown”, California, with the first professional Black skater, Z-Boy Marty Grimes and then the film will follow the evolution of African-Americans in modern skateboarding through its 70’s heyday, the ASPO contest series, a series of contest held between Southern California skate parks, to its decline during the 80’s, to the streets of the 90’s and its eventual, and highly lucrative, resurgence in the new millennium.
Trailer: