 the pushing against racism commitment launches today the pushing against racism commitment launches today julen wed 5192021 1059 tue 5252021 1200 posted by the goodpush team a new initiative led by the goodpush alliance seeks to end systemic racism in the skateboarding community sign the commitment now antiracism social justice today may 25th we are so excited to announce that a working group of skateboarding organizations has launched a commitment to antiracism in skateboarding the initiative came out of thegoodpush alliance and involves organizations and individuals from across skateboarding who seek to create an antiracist culture in the skate community worldwide the initiative began following the murder of george floyd on 25 may 2020 and the commitment is officially launching on the first anniversary of his death the global protests against systemic racism in 2020 prompted us to begin hosting webinars for the social skate sector to selfreflect and support each other to improve in antiracist policies and attitudes during these webinars we decided to create a commitment which could be signed onto across the social skate sector as well as by the skateboard industry and media   photo credit chris swainston the commitment and supporting resources were put together by a working group with members from a dozen social skateboarding organizations and skate companies the working group consists of bangladesh street kids aid consent is rad australia global free movement skateboarding greece good times familia usa carribean harold hunter foundation usa impact skate club canada make life skate life global poseiden foundation usa latin america deluxe distribution usa skateistan global solid usa surf ghana surf skate science usa and women skate the world netherlands the commitment working group members the commitment is open for signon by all individuals organizations companies and media who are involved in skateboarding and states  we aim to recognize power relationships exist and to be mindful of how racism can take many forms both in overt and micro ways we see it as our duty to put in the work to cocreate spaces and areas of influence that are welcoming empowering representative and committed to racial equity for all individuals who are black indigenous and people of colour bipoc  as signatories we aim to actively provide pathways and establish spaces where all voices are heard valued and have support and access to resources to contribute fully to the skateboarding community we also aim to support each other in the work of challenging systemic racism that may appear at our skateparks in our media in our organizational structures in skate programs that we run and in the skateboard industry  jessica forsyth the executive director of the harold hunter foundation said   regardless of race no one is immune to internalizing racism and we all need to get over our egos we really want to push and challenge people while we have this moment and especially create some pressure for people in the industry to work in partnership with social skate organizations and the larger skate community to push against racism this is something that s been swept under the skateboard for a long time    rhianon bader from skateistan s goodpush alliance said   what was clear to us from the start is that we all have work to do the commitment is not a certificate to say that any organization or individual is antiracist it s a pledge to keep doing the work and keep improving around a set of shared guidelines    sandy alibo founder of surf ghana who acted as commitment coordinator for the working group said    my experience with the collective in ghana made me realise how the importance of representation could allow communities to be heard and push for positive change the skateboarding industry needs inclusion and genuine representation from the skateboarders skate coaches filmmakers photographers journalists shapers event managers skatepark builders and marketing managers  the commitment to antiracism in skateboarding has already been signed by dozens of skateboarding nonprofits and leading skate brands such as deluxe distribution dwindle distribution skateism black girls skate usa skateboarding and canada skateboard it is now open for anyone involved in skateboarding to sign on to for more info go to antiracismgoodpushorg  which also provides links to resources and next steps to help you act on the commitment in your own contexts and communities we really want to encourage you to get involved in this important movement by signing the commitment going through the resources and sharing this initiative within your circles    