That’s Not How They Roll

Did you know that Atlanta is known for a distinct type of roller skating and that the style is currently under threat of being diluted by skaters from around the country who roll into town on a regular basis? Me neither. NYT (Gift Article with some pretty rad photos): A ‘Skate Migration’ Is Changing How Atlanta Rolls. “It was the warm-up party for the Jivebiscuit Skate Family Reunion, one of the longest-running national gatherings of Black roller skaters. The 17-year-old event, held in February, is one of several annual parties that have made Atlanta a skating hub, bolstered by a steady, decades-long influx of Black residents from other cities … That commingling has Atlanta’s stalwart skaters concerned about keeping their distinctly energetic and percussive style alive. They say Atlanta’s newer skaters, who have wide access to regional variants, increasingly practice a hybridized type of skating that’s not rooted in any one tradition.” (You ever have one of those epiphanic moments when you realize you’ve wasted your whole adult life sitting in front of a laptop, reading and regurgitating news stories, when you could have been strapping on pair of roller skates and attending events with names like the Jivebiscuit Skate Family Reunion?)