Signing the Commitment to Anti-Racism in Skateboarding

May 26, 2021

We’d like to start by thanking THE SKATEROOM partners Skateistan, The Goodpush, Free Movement Skateboarding, and all organisory and signatory bodies, for their amazing work on ‘Pushing Against Racism’. Giving projects like this support is crucial to what we do, we hope we can help make a difference by continuing to fund and platform their incredible work.

In the year since the murder of George Floyd by American police officer Derek Chauvin, issues of systemic racism have become clear-as-day. The past twelve months saw incredible traction for Black Lives Matter and other anti-racism movements, with a drive for the equality and empowerment of BIPOC individuals and communities.

In the world of skateboarding too, conversations around these issues came to a head, and a commitment was drafted, led by THE SKATEROOM partner Goodpush Alliance: ‘to better unite and educate ourselves in challenging racism.’ Whether you’re an organisation, company, corporation, or member of a skate scene around the world, please join us in the fight to end systemic racism in skateboarding the world over by signing the ‘Pushing Against Racism’ commitment.

Goodpush Alliance _ Skateistan South Africa

“As members of the global skateboarding community, we have come together to make a collective commitment to actively resist and challenge systemic racism in our own scenes, organizations, the skateboard industry, and wider society.”

This is the clear raison d’etre of ‘Pushing Against Racism’, which was launched officially on May 25th, 2021, one year since George Floyd’s death.

Together with the members of a dozen social skateboarding organizations, including Skateistan, Free Movement Skateboarding, Women Skate the World, and Make Life Skate Life, the ‘Commitment to Anti-Racism in Skateboarding’ has laid out clear goals towards unity and education in the push against racism in skateboarding communities the world over.

The goals of the Commitment to Anti-Racism in Skateboarding are to:

Help keep the BLM and anti-Asian hate momentum going and keep anti-racism action on the agenda.
Encourage skate companies, media, social skate projects, pros, national skate federations, and individual skaters to agree to challenge the systemic racism that exists in the skate community and wider society.

THE SKATEROOM is proud to sign and commit to these goals, as a crucial part of our work to bring about real social change in skateboarding. Through the funding of NGOs via sales of our limited art editions, we are able to continue the great work of projects many of whom either support or spearhead this Commitment.

“My experience with the collective in Ghana made me realise how the importance of representation could allow communities to be heard and push for positive change. The skateboarding industry needs inclusion and genuine representation from the skateboarders, skate coaches, filmmakers, photographers, journalists, shapers, event managers, skatepark builders, and marketing managers.”
- Sandy Alibo, Founder of Surf Ghana, & Commitment Co-ordinator for Pushing Against Racism

If you’re unsure of how you can help, or where systemic racism exists within skateboarding or society at large, The Goodpush Alliance is here to guide you. There are lots of great resources collected in their library including lesson-plans for organisational training and help on understanding some of the trickier vocabulary around these topics. Anybody can understand and help in a meaningful way, it just takes that little extra push.