Racism and Recreation Part I: Roller Rinks and Roller Coasters of Racism

What could be more fun than an outing at an amusement park or skating rink, a swim in a neighborhood pool or at the beach, a cookout at a beautiful city or National Park? Join Dr. Carol François and Kourtney Square, her niece, as they take you on a roller coaster ride through the systemic racism of America’s leisure and recreation spaces to learn how it wasn’t all fun and games as Black/African Americans fought to desegregate the country’s leisure activities. Want more, take our course Systemic Racism: See it, Say it, Confront it at www.whyaretheysoangry.com and find us anywhere at www.podpage.com.whyaretheysoangry

Citations

A Legacy of Racism in America's Parks

“A Summer of Change: The Civil Rights Story of Glen Echo Park,” U.S. National Park Service website.

https://www.nps.gov/glec/learn/historyculture/summer-of-change.htm?fbclid=IwAR1ZDZ3LF0uyItC63xPQMem_EQZ0bWf7TEcN_1l86NyH77ZtYBZhCJCh4Rw

And the Beat Goes On

Black Voices: With a rise in roller skating popularity, society must recognize its roots in Black history

Civil Rights Protesters Recount The Little-Told Story Of The Fight To Desegregate Glen Echo

Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)

How Black Roller Skaters Made The Rink A Place For Grownups

McGhee, Heather. The Sum of Us: What Recism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together, oneworldlit.com, 2021.

Morris, Jill. Disney’s Influence on the Modern Theme Park and the Codification of Colorblind Racism in the American Amusement Industry, 2019

“Not Even a Trip to the Amusement Park Has Been Easy for African-Americans,” Victoria W. Wolcott, History News Network, May 25, 2018.

https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/169128?fbclid=IwAR1_Uo7rRB_7kCk82h6cD53uw7PLH_kRecfJM9whCqeFLvxbCA8S0xvSfFI

Racial Politics at Disney

Remembering the Summer of 1960 at Glen Echo | Boundary Stones: WETA's Washington DC History Blog

Wolcott, Victoria W., Race, Riots, and Roller Coasters: The Struggle over Segregated Recreation in America