For Black women, roller skating is the ultimate form of self-expression

Refinery29 quoted Victoria W. Wolcott in an article on the significance of roller skating for Black women as a form of self-expression. Speaking on the history of segregation in skating rinks in the U.S., Wolcott said, “There was protest against segregated roller rinks from the beginning, but they increased in tempo and in the use of non-violent direct action by the 1940s.” She adds that tactics perfected at these “skate-ins” were later used during the Civil Rights Movement.