Surfers Are Uniting Through Pain of George Floyd’s Death

The beautiful thing about the ocean is that it doesn’t care what color you are.

As long as you have a surfboard and the love … the waves will let you ride them. 

As long as you have eyes … the water and sunsets will let you watch them.

But unfortunately, parts of the world don’t have the same inclusivity.

Watch this incredible video with some beautiful words from our friend and Surfrider Ambassador, Sal Masekela…

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This was an INCREDIBLE post from our friends at @surfrider so please watch/share with your followers and tag people who need to see this! #justiceforgeorgefloyd #icantbreathe #savethereef #blacklivesmatter “I hope that you guys will be here tomorrow… and the next day… and the next day, and continue to stand for this thing that we call unity. And tell racism that it can go and kick rocks — because that is not what surfing is about." . -Beautiful words from our friend and Surfrider Ambassador, Sal Masekela (@salmasekela) #AmplifyMelanatedVoices 🎥: @thecigarettesurfboard @changingtidesfoundation @texturedwaves @salty.sol @kindhumans_movement

A post shared by SaveTheReef (@savethereef) on Jun 6, 2020 at 10:56am PDT

The murder of George Floyd that was caught on video has woken up the whole world, opening our eyes to how people of color are treated differently.

It’s caused many black people to express the pain they have been feeling all of their lives — even in the surfing community.

“It’s been the hardest … the hardest week in my 48 years in this planet. It’s been the hardest week to exist in my skin and in my blackness,” Sal Masekela stated on this Surfrider post.

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"I hope that you guys will be here tomorrow… and the next day… and the next day, and continue to stand for this thing that we call unity. And tell racism that it can go and kick rocks — because that is not what surfing is about." . -Beautiful words from our friend and Surfrider Ambassador, Sal Masekela (@salmasekela) #AmplifyMelanatedVoices 🎥: @thecigarettesurfboard @changingtidesfoundation @texturedwaves @salty.sol @kindhumans_movement

A post shared by Surfrider Foundation (@surfrider) on Jun 5, 2020 at 9:06am PDT

“It has been that way for all of us that have this skin … to wonder what it is and as to whether or not we get to be Americans just like everyone else. But for all of the surfers that happen to be black … we’ve known and experienced challenges in this community that would probably shock you. Because it’s been very hard for people to perceive perhaps that people that don’t look like them could love the ocean as much as they do,” said Masakela.

The topic of racism is global and it touches all different aspects of life. 

At Karmagawa, we are listening to the cries of our black friends and using our platforms to stand in agreement that black lives matter.

There’s a lot of pain happening right now but our hope is that this same pain will be a catalyst for change.

Make a difference: Grab some new charity merch HERE. We’re donating 100% of the profits to three Black Lives Matter charities: Color of Change, the Black Lives Matter Foundation & Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp.

Our goal is to donate $100,000, so we hope you’ll purchase with a purpose and help support the cause.

Get the new charity apparel here now!

Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram for our latest updates and stories as we continue to get these important messages across. Share them with family and friends.

How do Sal’s words make you feel? Leave a comment below.

(Cover image: AnnaTamila/Karmagawa)