Tony Hawk uses skateboarding to teach community organizing

Tony Hawk’s The Skatepark Project has launched a fellowship program, which is training 15 skateboarding enthusiasts in community organizing and project management so they can build a skatepark in their neighborhoods.

Skateboarding culture expert and sociologist Neftalie Williams said the program was a response to the police killing of George Floyd in 2020. The nonprofit wondered: “How do you take this platform and really take it to the next level, really empower the next generation?”

They decided creating a new generation of skateboarding advocates who also understand the mechanics of community organizing is part of the answer.

PHOTO INFO: Sara Campos poses at tennis courts being converted to a skatepark at Portland State University in Portland, Ore., Friday, Oct. 28, 2022. Campos is a fellow in Tony Hawk’s The Skatepark Project program, which is training 15 skateboarding enthusiasts in community organizing and project management so they can build a skatepark in their neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Steve Dipaola)

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