Skateboarding communities in Indianapolis stood up and showed out for Palestine. On July 7, Q Skatepark hosted a fundraiser on behalf of the Palestine Children Relief Fund (PCRF). In solidarity with the Palestinian people who are facing worsening conditions and the genocidal assault by Israel, the people here in our city refuse to let them do it alone. Organized by LGBTQ collective skateboarding group Queer Skate Indy, the event raised over $300 in just a few hours. Q Skatepark has a history of collaborating with community organizations on justice-oriented events, like the 2021 Go Skate for Hope fundraiser.
As a beginner skater, I was overjoyed to find out about and be a part of the event. I started longboarding in 2020 during the initial lockdown that happened in Indiana. I had a board passed down to me by my older brother, and I desperately needed to get out of the house and do something physical. Learning to skate was something that I could control during a time where I felt very much out of it.
Now, four years later, my world has opened up even more. In a few weeks time I went from skating alone, to skating with a group, to meeting more groups that made it a mission to skate for Palestinian lives.
The 2020 uprisings and the PSL opened my heart and mind
There was a time where I felt very much alone and viewed community and skill as something I needed to earn out of individual grace and mastery. I thought that I would make other skater friends once I got good and could impress them into wanting to hangout. The 2020 uprising against police violence pushed my consciousness forward, and I was introduced to the power of community. I joined the Party of Socialism and Liberation, and that really opened up my heart and my mind to community and change.
It still took a few years to make much progress on the board. I am a stubborn person, and I have definitely had to work to overcome my own mind before I could really get into stuff on the board. I would go to the skate park several days a week and skate till I was dizzy and weak. Somehow, I thought I would make myself great alone, that I didn’t need a teacher or any feedback.
It was really demoralizing and I left in tears a couple of times from how hard I was on myself. This summer, the wildest thing occurred. My girlfriend told me about a skate group, Grind Culture Indy, that meets every Wednesday at the Circle City Industrial Complex (CCIC) parking lot, and we decided to go. I spoke with one of the organizers, Carly, and I was blown away with how easy it was to open up and socialize with everyone. Suddenly, skating was easy, no pressure. I made a case to work to move things around on my schedule, and I locked in to showing up as much as possible.
Event organizers speak
Echo initiated the event, and said the “idea for doing a skate meet to bring awareness to Palestine came after finding Gaza Skate Team and learning about the history of Palestine from my employer.” Referencing skateboarding’s “many roots in fighting inequality and challenging government policies,” it made sense to do an event for Palestine. Echo continued:
“Indy has a thriving up and coming skating scene and it only grows with each meet from each group. It was a perfect chance to get some information in hands that were fighting censorship and not getting the full story.
So many people don’t know where to start and can feel easily discouraged for not knowing everything. We wanted to be able to give them the missing pieces and remind them it’s not about what all you know, it’s the actions you take. I have never held a meet/event, and I felt complacent by just reading and scrolling the stories of Palestine.
Echo also wanted to promote local businesses that stand in solidarity with Palestine and other national liberation struggles. The raffle was my idea of pulling some people in who maybe were in the dark about Palestine or confused about information. As well as highlighting businesses within Indy that stand with Palestine.
Another progressive skater spoke about what this particular event and the broader Queer Skate Indy community means. “For me,” Rivvy said, “grassroots organizing and community building has been a cornerstone of my life since middle school.”
In a story that resonates with mine, Rivvy continued:
“I spent a lot of time not fitting in or just being terrified to step into spaces that didn’t seem welcoming to a scared closeted trans kid. It felt like there was a lack of community for queer skaters in Indianapolis and I wanted to change that. Well turns out I was not alone because I took to social media to find a small team of like minded people and we have cultivated what we have today in this small amount of time.”
Because organizing is nothing without an end goal, Rivvy articulated their own goal of assisting those in need. “It was quite obvious we couldn’t sit silently while Gaza citizens are under attack and finding an accessible organization that could aid children and their families was what we did.”
Politics, community, and Queer Skate Indy
Beyond this Gaza fundraiser, Queer Skate Indy plans to engage in solidarity projects to promote women’s issues, queer organizations, and dog rescues, to name a few.
“Skateboarding and the adjacent world of wheeled sports is such a powerful tool and we plan to use it,” Rivvy told me. I plan on doing the same, and you should, too!
Featured image: Attendees at the Queer Skate Indy fundraiser, photo credit: Iris Lerzak.