The past few weeks have been tumultuous in all realms of society, to say the least. While racial inequality is by no means a new subject, BMX has for the most part always been perceived as a bubble of sorts from the real world, where creativity, uniqueness, and diversity are always celebrated. One where we all ride together, regardless of political and religious beliefs, class, nationality, or race.
BMX has always been the bond that stands above all the labels and divisions the real world can succumb to. We at DIG thought it was as good a time as any to provide a platform to voice their thoughts, experiences, and opinions on the subject by a handful of riders. They may be currently pro, or may be influential and legendary on so many levels, or maybe they don't necessarily ride BMX as much as in their heyday of being sponsored, but they have one thing in common- they are all riders who happen to be black.
Maybe their words will make some uncomfortable. Maybe those words will make some angry. Maybe those words will make some feel like those viewpoints are way off-base. Or maybe they will make some take pause for a moment to listen, and learn about a different perspective they may not have previously ever experienced firsthand, or thought about.
Our goal in doing this will hopefully result in the latter, to whatever degree. Up next is lifelong Los Angeles resident and all-around shredder Andrew Jackson. Besides repping WeThePeople as a pro in the late 00s into the s, Andrew has also been found behind the video camera documenting the L. While his primary focus has shifted to logging heavy miles on road bikes the last few years, he can still be found ripping his 20" on occasion.
The world as a whole has been dealing with racism of all types for millennia. What are your thoughts on that? I remember with Gabe Brooks, he was blowing up and riding with a lot of new people, and it would bother me that some of them would act differently when he was around, almost treating him like he was a circus animal or novelty. I think Gabe realized it was marketable, and used it to his advantage like rappers do.
