Racism in the Rollerskating community
Social media has contributed to the whitewashing of the sport and it has lead to those in the general public being unaware of the history and racism behind the sport. Furthermore, many black content creators who post their rollerskating videos are censored and are discriminated against by tik tok who pretend about black issues when it is convenient for them.Black roller skaters have been existing and enjoying themselves but it hasn't been until recently that the world has payed attention to them. This attention whilst great has also highlighted the issue of people only paying attention to black people when they are being discriminated against as much of this same attention present when demo videos and those of black skaters enjoying themselves were posted. It sends the message that others only pay attention to black people when they are in pain or suffering and not when they are simply existing.Many skating rinks disbar black customers from entering with rules that do not apply to other groups. There is also the issue of stereotyping black people as thugs and criminals which negatively impacts black peoples enjoyment of recreational and social activities.
Furthermore , non black people in this community are also very racist and choose to silence black skaters instead of amplifying their voices. Indy Jamma Jones is an example of this as she was recently under fire for censoring posts by black skaters who shared their experiences being profiled by the police.She believed the posts were too political and needed to be on another page.This incident highlights the ignorance and racism within these so called progressive communities and how black peoples experiences are seen as political rather than a reality that needs to be acknowledged . It shows non black peoples fear over such topics because they do not want to isolate their audiences and are eager to please them, but this comes at a great cost which is increased racism and lack of awareness over such issues.