The NFL and NBA are predominantly Black, which curtails the amount of open racial discrimination, but things are totally different when it comes to skateboarding, and Na-Kel Smith wasn’t afraid to hop on Instagram live and speak his truth.
The California born skater
The chat begins with Na-Kel asking California born skater Kevin White what it’s like to be a Black skateboarder– and as expected, the answer is twofold.
He goes on to explain that even when you are around other Black skaters, they might not be on the same wavelength as you or grew up in a similar environment, which makes it hard to relate to them because they never want to speak up on prevalent issues.
They even explain the issues within the Black community, recalling how one person, who’s from Australian, but has Nigerian roots refused to identity as Black but had no problem using the n-word.
Smith gets really honest and even says that “some of your favorite skate companies don’t give a fuck about the black man.”
