What does Southern California’s surfing culture look like? An Eddie Bauer grant winner shows us that it’s an expanding community of Black surfers.
In this enlightening documentary, Bailey Williams dispels the myth that Black people don’t surf. Williams highlights historical barriers and stigma, along with those who are trying to rewrite the narrative.
Bailey Williams was one of the winners of the Eddie Bauer ‘One Outside’ Film Grant in 2022, which resulted in her directing the film “Black People Surf?”
Williams takes us to Southern California, where the first documented Black surfer, Nicolás Rolando Gabaldón, took to the waves. We also see blossoming communities of Black surfers, thanks to people like Lizelle Jackson and Brick.
Lizelle Jackson is the founder of Color the Water, an organization that began after the murder of George Floyd. Color the Water is dedicated to making a safe and accessible place for Black people to surf. And Brick co-founded Ebony Beach Club as a safe place created for the Black Community.
Together, these organizations and many others are bringing diversity back to the beaches.
Duration: 12 minutes
