Joyful anti-racist surf lessons for BIPOC
Radical reimagination of surf culture
Support (fka lessons)
Color the Water offers free anti-racist surf support and media for all BIPOC. We believe that by offering a surf space that embodies principles of anti-racism that include internal and external decolonization, rejection of dominant surf narratives steeped in white supremacist legacies, the radical reimagination of wave riding that is inspired by liberation movement and indigenous wave sliding practices and philosophies, and a continual quest to contribute to the movement toward abolition of all harmful systems of oppression, we can be a part of genuinely dismantling the interlocking systems of oppression that continue to insidiously and overtly destroy us.
Our support is less about getting you to achieve or perform, and more toward having you feel safe and informed as you create your own wave riding practice. There are a lot of toxic cultural elements in surf culture that would have us feel unworthy or less than if we can’t surf by standards set by generations of white people. These standards are exclusionary and unnecessary, and our lessons strive to be free of the notion that your surfing only “counts” under these oppressive standards. We want to make sure you know as much as you can about the ocean, and that we know as much about you, so that we can offer support that is filled with the affirmation of the truth we hold dear: we are divine, we belong and whatever we do it is the way it’s supposed to be. Yes, there are techniques and knowledge to share, but no, these are not what we worship. We don’t know what surfing would have been like if colonizers had not taken it and the coast from the ancestors, but this is our chance to imagine. This is your chance to bridge that gap and heal that relationship.
Education
Surf history and surf culture, like much of history and culture that we are indoctrinated with through media and the education system, are filled stories of racism, and also of heroes who have fought against it. We are developing resources for people to learn more about this, as well as tools for those not in LA to learn how to gain ocean access remotely. Access isn’t just getting to the beach. It’s understanding the barriers made invisible over centuries of oppression, echoed through generations. It’s seeing the insidious soft cultural pillars that existing surf culture holds up white supremacy with. It’s moving beyond the notion that having surf look different means it’s liberated. It’s addressing the tropes of the non profit industrial complex that also perpetuate white saviorism in surfing and keep People of Color as perpetual beneficiaries.
More than anything, we want to foster a critical analysis for our people to see that surfing is seen as white for a reason, but that reason isn’t the one that we have to surf with. If we can carry this deep inspection of every piece of our surf practice while understanding the history that has brought us here, we have a chance to do this in ways that aren’t just replicating white surf culture with melanated bodies. Instead, if we carry the truth of surfing (like how the first “documented” surfer was in Ghana, or how Peru wave sliding has existed for millennia) then we can resist and re-imagine surfing in ways that resemble the ways Indigenous surfers of color did it - in community, in harmony with nature, in reverence to the spiritual power of the ocean, and in celebration of the chance to engage in such a deeply nourishing practice with nature and each other.
Representation
As we move toward creating a surf culture centered around diversity and anti-racism, we embrace the importance of telling these stories using modern storytelling tools. Photography, videography, audio, and prose are a big part of our mission to shift the culture by creating new narratives.
Though representation matters, as they say, we don’t believe that representation without power matter very much. We want to be able to control our narratives and have a space where we aren’t beholden to the controls of sponsors or funders that would have us soften what we say in order to sustain. We strive to never tap-dance for money, to stand firmly on what we believe so that those who support us, support us all the way. This represents risk for us… the system is designed to have us soften what we hope would be a revolution toward collective liberation, and in its place instead do the work of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion aka. the work that the government should already be doing itself. Our aim is not to have a seat the table. Though our ancestors built that table, it was not made with us in mind. We want to destroy that table and in its place have open space where we can surf in harmony with each other and nature, the way our ancestors intended.