Racial Lines in the Sand

Looking back at surf culture in America from a historical perspective one can see the predominantly white community surrounding it (surfing). Although surfing originated (or at least the general consensus that it was indeed) in Hawaii, white colonists and then white teenagers adopted the culture as their own. Even in the rock'n'roll based surf music scene, African-Americans and Latinos are left out of the surf music history books. The likes of Chuck Berry and Fats Domino exist on the outer edge of what many consider, "surf music". The racial divisions also stem from the time period that the surf revolution was happening, the early 1960's.
As African-American youths fought for their rights against police brutality and legislative blockades, white youths soaked up the sun on the beaches of Southern California. This dichotomy only fueled the discontent that minorities felt towards white America. Even in Southern Californian cities like Sylmar, or East Los Angeles, race riots and bigotry between African Americans, Latinos, and young whites adopting the surf look. Therefore, surf culture became synonymous with white culture and at a time of political race tensions equated to a dismissal of surf among minorities.