The State of Black Skate

Great Piece I enjoyed it very much

I wanted to see more sk8ting! The color thing sucks but what was it about the sport or the issue? What would be a better message?

I NEED to know who does the intro song!!!!

dope pod but dudes like stevie williams and kareem cambell made black kids skating legit way before lupe got on it.

What's with the "non-caucasian" intro televised 7-28-2009? People have the right to identify themselves as they wish, they don't need some nitwit "non-black, non-male" to catagorize them. Enough white supremacy, black is beautiful, race is beautiful. Stop calling black kids "non-caucasian".

Now take being a black skater and add being a woman from Michigan. *cackles* Quandaries!

originality at it's best.

I HAD NO IDEA SKATING HAD A RACIAL EDGE- WHEN I SAW "KIDS" BACK IN THE DAY IT WAS LIKE WEST COAST I THOUGHT- EVERYONE SKATES. THERE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HATERS ON SKATERS (IM RHYMING- WATCH OUT )- BUT I NEVER HEARD RACIAL STUFF. ITS A BOARD WITH WHEELS - THE ONLY THING- THAT THING DISCRIMINATES AGAINST IS CLUMSY PEOPLE LIKE MY ASS :)

I have been a black male skating since the sixties how many times can a brother from he philly suburbs be asked if he is from Cali I have had the honor of being able to teach my son how to skate in the 90's and it makes me extremely happy to see the black community finally open too skateboarding I think the sport will be taken to new heights hopefully tv won't lose interest now.

Kick push

really incredible stuff. the skaters who were interviewed have all of my respect.

Black skaters for president.
Awesome!
Thank you Jesus for black skaters?

Black skaters for president.
Awesome!
Thank you Jesus for black skaters?

is the music in this pod available?

aye i know what its like for white and black kids to tell you that you aint black for the things you do. Yall keep ignoring them cause they obviously dont know that you're not black because of what YOU DO but because of YOUR HISTORY. Just keep tellin them that. And to the person skateboarding barefoot: that has got to hurt! Ha Ha Ha!!

yo I know how these skater feel, I've been a hard sk8er for yay long and hope that life and skating are the dream to me.

Skating is like dancing and everyone has a style. These skaters in this pod, and many not even mentioned bring their style in a whole new way.
I do see the curse of the retailer here as well, with shops pushing skate fashion for profit. Active, volcom, pac-sun and many others are outfitting the latest posers while lining their pockets with mommies' dough.

Good to see a skater showing that he doesn't even need shoes to tear it up.

Ture story. I have witnessed the same stuff growing up as a skateboarder.

Voting this down is just stupid. It's a great piece of work. Great piece of social commentary.

fresh!

if you enjoy skating, your a skater. it has nothing to do with corporations. they are the same as regular companies, just that they were more successful. skate. live. have fun. it doesn't matter if you're black, white, spanish asian, arab, or anything else i may have missed. just enjoy the sport/ life

Wait, where's Pharrell??

Okay, so, from the perspective of a black female whom has for a long time associated herself with alternative culture in general, I have to say that this pod really stands out for me. This may sound a little weird but to be honest if there has ever been a black male that's caught my attention it's usually a black male with a skateboard and this is because I feel like there is a likelihood that there would be some sort of understanding that being black isn't about Ebonics and hip hop. I can also relate to the rejection that comes from the black community, I've had family members keep their distance because the things I value are foreign to them.

Either way, I think it's good for people everywhere to know that just as things that are usually associated with "black culture" are in fact open to the entire world, so are things like skateboarding, for example, that most members the black community are afraid of.

This was dope, I liked it.

It's too bad people can't have love and passion for a sport or anything without race involved. If a black guy, black girl,or anyone for that matter loves to skate and has a passion for it - he should be considered a skateboarder, not a black skateboarder.or anything. It is a shame - skateboarding is suppose to bring all walks of like together but it is always a factor here in the US from both sides of the fence - it does really get old.

I like to keep a crappy skateboard in my car
to pretend like i can skate when i get bored
Death to false skateboarders !

Anybody know the music used in this pod?

yeah its true, anything thats underground and recives corporate notariety is almost always automaticly tainted and ruined, but that will never happen to skateboarding. unlike airsofting skateboarding is an actuall lifestyle. its more of a way to dress or just a means of getting around, its a way of life. you have to have dedication patience and a a sence of rebelion to be a true skater. you have to be willing to fall, break bones, get arrested, and get made fun on for it. especially if your black, which is what this pod is about!

lupe did open up the doors for black skaters getting acceptance, but he didnt hold it open....he dosent even really skate, theres nothing wrong with appriciating the culture, jst make sure u can represent it affectivley.

airsoft is a bunch of guys running around playing pretend shootem up while skatboarding is somthing that takes more then just equiptment and nothing to do to be a part of.
its a lifestlye
its a means of expression
its an art
its an escape
its more than wood and wheels
its an extention of the soul

RIP HAROLD HUNTER
LEGENDS NEVER DIE

Black people have been skating. This is not new to me, when I am skating with people I don't even think about what color they are. Same for when I play music with people. I don't even see it, we're all brothers, so I am waiting for the day when I am not seeing videos geared toward a certain race and what they do. We're all people so we're all the same.

JA, great pod. I know how long you've been waiting for this to go live... Props are due to you. It's people expressing themselves in a positive way. And for that, the subjects of the film deserve daps.

I'm black, I skate, and I've been doing it for about 6years now. I went through the whole "skating is only for white kids" before and it didn't phase me. It doesnt phase me now either. The only thing thats gets on my nerves is the whole "Star Trak" poser movement that pharrell and his icecream brand started. Skate because you love to skate, not because its "whats hot" right now.

this is racist.

for the fact its an isolation of an ethnicity. whether this or anything for that matter separates a group by race, in a positive or negative way, its racist.

im tired of it. it needs to stop.

all of it.

if youre a skater, then it dont matter what color skin you are. if you skate cos its the latest thing, your not a skater, your a copy cat haha

Word, If you do something rather its a sport or a hobby do it because its something you love to do. I hate it when people only do it because its the coolest and latest thing out.

While I do like it's when racial stereotypes are broken down, skating is still something that is unnecessary. Think about it, the whole activity is revolving around destruction, the deck its self is made of trees, you grind stone and tables, you rip up shoes and jeans, building vast concrete flooring, and lastly you break your self. I understand there is a lot of romanticism of this in the scene (skating is about falling and getting back up), but honestly, doing some sort of martial art (or even a sport like free running), is less destructive to Earth.

We have one Earth, there is not enough shitte to destroy. I agree you could say I'm directing the "consume less, live more" speech to the wrong crowd, because these are under privileged kids, but take a look around. Skating is dead, it's been killed by Nike and all those conglomerates. There are the X-Games for shitte sake that are supposed to help sell more junk that will be discarded and burned.

Go join a guerrilla gardening cell if you want to be cool, or even a street art crew. Skating has really no practical purpose either. It doesn't even help you that much because of the destruction.

This is all coming from a former skater of 8 years. I thought through it, just like I saw through religion. The pod asks an important question: why do you skate? Seriously, for what? How long can you keep it up? How much money will you make Nike and all those fashion pushers?

And don't mean to be such a hater, but Lupe is Mainstream garbage. Keep art non- corporate, support your local and independent artists, but not Lupe, the dude is signed to Reebok clothing shitte.

XVX for life, R.A.S.H. 'til death.

This is my favorite pod its so true.I thought me and my guys were the only ones to noticed that in the black community how skateboarding became a trend but we had been doing it for years and got clowned for it but now its cool.Big Ups whoever made this one

Where's Darrell, Antwuan Dixon, and Clyde Singleton... there are tons of black professional skateboarders.

I like this piece because its trying to knock down long-lived stereotypes in the black community.On tv black people only get shown in a very small scope of athletes or trouble makers and I think this video helps to try to show people(who didnt know prior somehow,even today) that people have basically the same interests and if you like to skate....then skate...easy right?

luvvvv it in you face tony hawk!!!!black people can do kick flips to!

I think it's funny that the group that's telling them not to skate is black and the white people who are skating aren't saying anything to push them out. They judge them based on their talent and that, for this type of deal, is how they should be judged.

Great pod. Thanks for creating it. I often wonder about such things.

This is a great mini documentary of the life as a black skater. I went through many of the ridicules and discrimination just as these folks did too, it's ridiculous. Skating is for everybody and it's been for everybody before "Kick Push" (Still mad credit for Lupe for making that track though). To the folks in this video keep rollin', you're doing BIG things, and for all of those who are scared, its time to rise up!

any person with a deck under their feet enjoying themselves , and skating , is a real skater - period .

Thats what I'm saying. I have never seen anyone that I would call a real skater, just brandwagon kids covered in logos who fail every time they attempt even the easiest of tricks.

Wtf!? Skate boarding is not a fad. Skating is more than just a recreational pass time, skating is a lifestyle; a way of life.

It seems for me to be more like freedom of expression. Like dancing, everybody does it different and that is what I call style.

Some skate vert, some skate street but it doesn't matter what you wear or how you wear it neat, all that really matters is how you're moving your feet.

So how come Jesse isn't out there making a speech? How come Al isn't mustering up a protest walk? How come Jeremiah isn't trying to find a way to blame it on the white race? Hats off to Lupe Fiasco.

this is true to life,the descriptions of people's criticisms are so true.the film quality is really good too!

The skaters of color? Sounds like something Jesse would say.

this was a badass video !

Unbelievable... its not all just suburban white kids who talk and dress like morons and listen to the worst bands in history. Remember when skateboarding was a cool, underground sport? I don't. All there is these days is the multimillion dollar companies, crappy bands, and more multimillion dollar companies. You can't look at a "skater" these days and not see more logos and brand names than a Nascar. Brands brands brands. Way to ruin a sport/lifestyle/mode of transportation. I hope it never happens to airsoft.

Love it! Yay for the skate community.