UNITED SKATES: The history of African American skate culture
I remember the first time I put on a pair of skates. My Girl Scout troop leader thought an outing at the Rollerdrome, a nearby roller rink, would be fun night out for her Brownie troop. Dancing complicated routines, skaters zoomed by us as we struggled to keep our balance on all four wheels. I was determined to learn how to skate before the night ended. I bust my butt so many times that my troop leader told me to tell my mom to run a bath for me with some epsom salt. Needless to say, I was hooked and I returned to the Rollerdrome every Sunday night with my dad for most of my childhood until the rink eventually closed down. Eventually, Skate Station in a nearby suburb begin having “adult night” and I when I was home on holidays from college, my dad insisted that we go. With police holding guard in the parking lot and security checking ID’s at the door, we waited in line to get our roll on.
Without questioning, I instinctively knew that whenever there was an “adult night” at a roller rink that was code for “Black night” as in the night when African American skaters primarily attended. It wasn’t until I watched the upcoming HBO documentary United Skates, that I learned that adult nights derived from the era of segregation. Since African Americans were not allowed to enjoy even the slightest bit of recreation with their white counterparts, roller rinks came up with different nights during the week that were exclusively for Blacks.
United Skates tells the history of roller skating in the Black community while tracing the current state of roller rinks throughout the US through the lives of various skaters. Rinks are closing left and right, and the few that remain open still continue the tradition of “adult nights.” However, even with an avid skating community, it isn’t enough to sustain them. United Skates captures the history of African American skate culture while shining a light on the challenges current skaters are facing. Four wheels or no wheels, this documentary is worth the watch.
United Skates will air on HBO on February 18.