As the pandemic ravaged the states, I had to find a way out of the apartment — something I could do by myself and safely. As I saw the roller-skating boom in queer social media spaces, I had to dive in myself. I bought a pair of rainbow rollers, a helmet, and every pad except a butt pad to which I would later regret and hit the streets. Through my journey of relearning to skate on quads as an adult — with my new quarantine body and a recently recovered broken toe, I stumbled upon much more than asphalt.

I knew of black roller-skating culture, but I did not know the depth of the rich history of skating in the states as a form of black expression, excellence, and as a method of protest. The media in which I ingested diluted that as social media algorithms pushed more cookie-cutter skaters in my direction.