February marks Black History Month in North America, a month to celebrate the achievements and history of African Americans and a moment to honor their triumphs and struggles.

Stephanie Person in the 1980s.

Black women have always been everywhere, in fact, they have been at the forefront of many social and cultural movements. They've been a prominent part of skateboarding too; though, as Brazilian skateboarder Pipa Souza put it,

Being a woman isn't easy... but being a Black woman is even tougher.

However, for all the struggles and discrimination they face, Black women skate too. Actually, Black women shred. Throughout the past years we’ve seen a rise of powerful women in the spotlight of skateboarding, where they’re paving the way and getting things done for themselves through hard work and gnarly skating, getting more opportunities and coverage than ever - we’re here for every bit of it, and we want more. We want to see Black girls everywhere. We must reverse discrimination. Representation is very important, because every little girl with an afro deserves to feel that they belong, that this world is theirs to take too.

Marie de Courcy for Thunder Trucks. Photo: Norma Ibarra

There could never be enough opportunities to celebrate the achievements and relentlessness of Black women, to amplify their voices, stories and hard-hearted spirit. So, in honor of Black History Month, here's some Black women skaters you should know.

Stephanie Person

Back in the 1980s, Black girls were already shredding! Stephanie is recognized as the first Black female pro skater. She used to skate contests against the guys, organize her own contests and ride for Santa Cruz back in the day.

Samarria Brevard

From Riverside, California, Samarria made history by becoming the first Black woman to medal at the X Games in 2017. Check out her Thrasher part ‘Magnified’:

Beatrice Domond

Based in New York, she has a pro board for Fucking Awesome and just recently had a colorway with Vans come out. Be sure to check out her interview in Dolores issue #9, a really cool read where she touches upon her life, having her own shoe and also the importance of there being more representation for all the little Black girls out there.

Beatrice in her own shoe ad for Vans.

Adrianne Sloboh

Adrianne is from California and has been around for a while, skating for brands like DGK, Krux and Spitfire. Check out her Krux Trucks part ‘Queen of Balance’:

Marie de Courcy

Marie made herself known to the public after launching her own part called ‘Trans Girl Sponsor Me Tape’ with There and appearing in some more There and Bottom Feeder videos throughout the last couple of years. She just went pro for There last year! Check her out in There Skateboards' ‘Soft’:

Briana King

Pro skater and model, she organizes skate meet-ups and workshops aiming to create inclusive spaces for women and non-binary skaters of color.

Photo: Kayla James. Source: Los Angeles Times

Kien Caples

Fakie heelflip. Photo: Carabarin. Source: Thrasher Magazine 

Kien is a skateboarder based in LA who skates for There and Converse. She’s also a model, and she's got her own part in There's 'Ruining Skateboarding' too:

Jessyka Bailey

Jessyka is another cool skater based in NYC. She appears in the documentary ‘Skate Dreams’ where she talks about the struggles of women skateboarders from the scene’s early days up until today, and her experience working at KCDC skate shop. She often organizes beginner-friendly skate meetups in Brooklyn. She has a pro board for There Skateboards too. Check out her part in ‘Ruining Skateboarding’:

Pipa Souza

Black History Month is celebrated in the US and is directly connected to their history. However, if I think about powerful Black women that could inspire girls all over the world, Pipa Souza will definitely come to mind. Her contributions to the skateboarding scene in Brazil have been legendary and impactful. She’s a Jack of all trades - skating hard, telling the story of Brazilian female skateboarding with a documentary and overall fostering a more inclusive and diverse community, even making a non-traditional skate mag called ‘Into The Mirror’, Pipa is definitely a figure to be highlighted.

Check out this video where Pipa shares talks about being a Black woman in skateboarding, the challenges Black people face to this day and the importance of Black expression and representation.

Vitória Mendonça

Vitória just recently rose to the spotlight and is already a Brazilian icon. She just launched her colorway with adidas, a pro board and clothing collection with Element and has a career in skateboarding and modelling. With all she’s achieved through her hard work and good skating, she’s a real new age inspiration for black girls worldwide. You can find our full interview with Vitória in issue 11 of Dolores, where, among many other things, she talks about the importance of representation:

“I really always wanted to see more black girls. I don’t want to be the only black girl, I don’t want to be the only black girl at Element, I don’t want to be the only black girl with an Adidas colorway. I don’t want us to be the minority. I want to see loads of black girls skating for all brands, loads of black girls going pro. There’s not that many black girls who are pro now, and there’s a lot of black girls who are sick at skating.”

Frontside tailslide. Photo: Diego Sarmento.

For organisations focused in empowering and providing safe spaces for Black women and PoC, be sure to follow @bronxgirlsskate and @froskate.