Kevin Dawson grew up a surfer in San Diego. While there’s nothing terribly unusual about a young man from Southern California taking full advantage of the waves in one of the sport’s North American meccas, for Dawson, he was always aware that he was different from most of the other surfers he saw perched atop their boards, waiting patiently for the next swell.
He’s Black. And, of course, there’s a long-standing stereotype that Black people don’t swim or surf. This false notion grew out of the legacy of slavery and was exacerbated during the Jim Crow era – a time of apartheid in America, which officially lasted until the middle of the 20th century but casts long shadows today. The belief that Blacks couldn’t swim became a pervasive, self-fulfilling belief for many, and the idea lingers still like the stench of low tide.
A PERSONAL HISTORY
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