Monyell Sessoms and Kameren Haliday came to Howard University a little over three years ago and bonded together with a love of skating.
After noticing there was a community of skaters on campus and in the city of Washington, D.C., they decided to begin a one-of-a-kind club that is beginning to inspire other HBCU skater kids to start their own campus groups.
Sessoms, a senior political science major from Knightdale, North Carolina, and is the club’s president.
“Our first year on campus, we used to skate with a few people from campus and a few local DC skaters, but it was never organized, and we weren’t consistent with our meetups,” Sessoms said. “I thought that with the presence and number of skaters on campus, creating a club would provide a good network for us to create an inclusive community and bridge the gap between the DC community and Howard students.”
Haliday, the club vice president and senior cybersecurity and infosystems major from Atlanta, added: “I wanted to find more skaters that looked like me. Monyell and I saw so many of us scattered around campus, so starting a club meant that we would be creating that space for all of us to come together and form the great community we have today.”
Larnelle Ankunda, a sophomore Computer Science major residing in Northridge, California, but originally from Uganda, loves the inclusiveness and familial feeling the HU Skate Club provides.
“I made my first friends ever in the skate club and today, I consider those friends family,” he says. “I didn’t know how to skate in the beginning, but they were willing to teach me, and when I learned how to skate, I offered to teach others that just joined the club.
“I did this because I wanted them to feel what I felt when people who didn’t know a single thing about me decided to welcome me into their community even when I seemed to be different from them, coming all the way from Uganda in East Africa.”
Haliday believes that the club can serve as not just a fun place for skaters but a safe haven for young people who need a break from the hassles and pressures of life.
Skating at Howard is for everyone
“Skateboarding is an art, a skill, an experience that I believe if anyone is willing to try should be able to without judgment,” she says. “Creating a space for that on any campus can really help and inspire those willing to try something new for the first time or find their people again. Having a skate club allows people to come together in a fun environment where the impact could be something small as finding a space to relax and blow off steam or large as helping those with their mental health.”
Carter Whittaker, a senior accounting major from Memphis, Tennessee, agrees with Haliday.
“Everyone at the events are either pushing to improve, cheering on other skaters, or are just enjoying the party and friendly environment,” he said. “It’s been a great way to connect with new people, get to know old friends better, and make new memories with a wide variety of people. I’ve also gotten some helpful skate tips and have been introduced to unique DMV area skate spots that I would not have known about.”
Joy Carter believes that Howard’s skating club is opening doors for other HBCUs to start their own clubs and not feel alone in enjoying this form of exercise and entertainment.
“It’s important because it truly allows black people to start breaking the bounds of what is a ‘white thing’ and what’s for everyone,” they said. “The fact that Howard was the one to start it just solidifies the idea that we are the breeders of black excellence and are consistent in bringing change to our community.”
Raina Aly, a junior health management major from Morriston, New Jersey, explains that “skaters are generally on the outskirts of society.”
Club opens the door for other HBCUs to mimic
“For whatever reason, so to have a community within Howard University is monumental.”
Sessoms said that Hampton and Morgan State have started their own skate clubs, and the Atlanta University Center schools, North Carolina A&T, and North Carolina Central have all reached out for advice to strengthen their respective skating communities.
“We want to show that Black kids can skateboard, too,” said Sessoms. “Skating can be inclusive and welcoming and a great environment to foster strong connections and friendship, and it’s okay to be a beginner.”
Members of the club also feel that it serves a purpose for not just skating but building friendships and confidence.
“I think this moment is unique because the sheer support from both within and out of HBCU spaces has shown us that HBCU skate clubs are embraced and desired by both the prospective members but the skate world as a whole,” Carter Whittaker says. ”So many good things can come from this movement, and I’m excited to see where we go from here.”
