Ep. 42. Black Surfing Association's Tony Corley and Louis Harris

In 1974 Tony Corley wrote an open letter to Surfer Magazine calling out fellow black surfers to represent and get to know each other. In response, he received warm support but also a racist threat. A year later he founded the Black Surfing Association which has been bringing black surfers together in celebration of waves in Central and Southern California for 43 years. Inspired by this work, Rockaway's Louis Harris started offering free surf lessons in 2016 to any kid who wanted to jump in. We talk about perceptions of who can and can't surf, the barriers of access to stoke, and the black surfing pioneer Nick Gabaldon, who paddled 12 miles across segregation barriers to ride Malibu.

http://www.blacksurfingassociation.org/

Music credit: Boss Bass

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