The Changing Face of Skateboarding

This is what most Silver Spring skaters look like today — the vast majority of them are minorities. I've talked to quite a few who rarely, if ever, attended summer camps or other programs outside of school. I've talked to many kids who feel like skateboarding has saved their lives, and that if it weren't for skating, their lives would have taken a different turn. This is why so many of our kids are so passionate about skating. And this is why we should not only allow kids to skate — but encourage them to.

One day when I ran into a group of skaters getting citations for skating at Discovery, the police officer was being really nice and he kept suggesting other places for the kids to skate, and asking them why they didn't skate in those locations. The answer to each and every one of those suggestions: "we get kicked out there too."