Samarria is a reminder that not only is the future female, but it is also an African American female-led future. She burst onto the scene with smiles, serious game, and a nonchalant style while delivering powerful tricks. Don’t believe me? Check the steeze on her photos with Seu Trinh—straight power and grace. Check the ‘gram for her daily dose of hot-tricks and good vibes. Samarria blessed our USC class with a visit during the semester. Her down to earth attitude and easy interactions coupled with her athleticism prompted all of the students to discuss that they knew they were in the presence of one of the greats. While she is already on the Olympic team, and the games are a year away—in my opinion, she earned the gold by grabbing the brass-ring with her Enjoi-backed ‘Black fist’ board graphic. Conceived before the current uprising, Samarria’s board graphic, forward-looking demeanor, and her devastatingly impressive skateboarding read like a once in a lifetime champion in any age. Please raise a fist and a smile for the future of the game… Samarria Brevard.
Interview by Neftalie Williams
Photos by Seu Trinh
Published in November 2020
You have always been a really positive, mellow person. I wanted to go back a little to your younger days skating with Mimi Knoop and then transition to if you are thinking differently about your relationships with the police and skating? Just to zero in on how you might have seen the world before the death of George Floyd and others and before the protests and larger discussion about police brutality.
I mean, I always knew that some cops are assholes (laughing). I guess my experiences are different though, I was never out in the streets then, (with Mimi Knoop) so I never experienced any of that. It never really crossed my mind like that, until I got older and started being on the streets and encountering the more asshole cops, but even then, I still hadn’t experienced too much of it.
Did you feel there was any impact on your experience due to gender, race or a combination of things or like the crews you were rolling with?
When I was out with Lisa Whitaker (co-founder of Meow skateboards and media guru extraordinaire) she would tell me stories about having incidents with the cops. I never really experienced cops being too crazy, not the way my brother and Tre experienced it. They were skating outside a school in L.A when the cops got called, and they arrested them for being outside the school. They didn’t even see anything happen, but had them in cuffs!
You didn’t have to see it, right?
No I wasn’t there, I found out about the story a couple months ago. It happened a couple years ago.
Do you think they didn’t want to tell you to stress you out?
No, I just wasn’t really hanging out with them at the time. Originally, they laughed about it, they just thought it was just crazy. But by the time I really found out how bad it was we were in the midst of the protesting and everyone’s marching, so the context changed.
How are you feeling now? Does it feel like things are getting better?
Right now, things are a lot calmer. You don’t have as many protests, but people are still bringing new awareness. Right now, I see the protests going on in Nigeria, people are bringing it all to the table now. In the US, we’re still thinking about it all because we’re in the midst of it.
I also saw what’s happening in Nigeria [over SARS]. Everyone else is uprising because people are fucking tired of oppression. Since the Black Lives Matter movement do new people talk to you more about how they can be better allies?
For me, I’ve been in quarantine, so I only talk to my friends and don’t really go out. I’m in a bubble with them. What I feel is there’s a lot of negative energy in the world right now. I know that I can’t change people, especially people who are super dead set in their ways. The only thing I can control in this situation is how I react to everything, so I’ve just been on this journey of just trying to be the best version, of myself. To be as healthy as I can possibly be and work that angle… so that’s where I have been at.
You’re trying to put the love in yourself and in self-care!
Yeah so that it radiates! That’s what I do the most lately. I’ll try to post things that make people think about change and I post positive quotes to try and add as much good energy to the world as I can from where I’m at.
That’s beautiful. Because in lockdown that’s all you can do.
That’s right, that’s how I felt. When the BLM protests began I thought I have to do something, what do I do? Really wrapping my brain about what I could do. Then I had a moment of clarity and thought “Be the change that you want to see in the world”. So, I’ve been trying to get my shit together and really become the change that I want to see. I try to pass that on with the few people that I do see every day.
You are doing that—I check your social media and that treflip you posted the other day was bomb by the way (laughing), but what you put out in the world does matter. Yet, at the same time there is just the burden of being a person of colour in general too without taking on trying to educate the world. You might think “what do I do?” but sometimes just living is hard enough. Just keeping your sanity is hard.
Oh yeah for sure. A lot of breakdowns, a lot of meltdowns, lot of crying.
I felt it too, I went through the same thing with the death of George Floyd and every story of police brutality and watching the BLM movement globally. I was distraught for a while, but what made me hopeful was seeing peaceful protestors who were not only people of color. There were ‘white’ people shielding and supporting people of color and marching together with us.
That’s one thing that I noticed – that we all noticed. It helps you think it’s not as bad as it could be because there’s people out there still marching with us. There were a lot of white people getting the tear gas, protecting black people, using their bodies to shelter anybody that was Black. It was a moment where I thought the same thing, Oh this is not the same as past protests where we might be alone. This is so different!
Yes, we really have allies who were putting their lives on the line right now. And we’ve never been here before. ‘White’ people are saying “We’ll be on the front line with you because if you were all by yourself, we know what they would do to you. That’s been the part that’s been heartening for me. Are there other ways that you think people can continue to make improvements?
Honestly, right now a big thing is the mental health issue. If you’re in a place to be able to really take care of yourself then you can continue to help and make change in this world. That to me is one of the best things you can do. You need to make sure you’re taking care of yourself so that you can take care of others.
That’s beautiful and you’re also telling the truth. Also, I’m not home right now and I just can’t believe this is what’s happening in California. We have a pandemic, wildfires, people on the streets, and a… president.
Yeah, we’re dealing with a lot…
On a lighter note, I see you out skating, getting everything done, and thinking about the Olympics. When you turned pro and I saw your board graphic and I thought it was perfect. Can you talk about how that came about?
That was Louie [Barletta], man. I wasn’t even thinking about what it would be, but it was all about change. I felt like the raised Black fist was a powerful symbol of uprising and when he showed me I thought…Yeah I’ll back that graphic 100%!
Yes, and that was before anything was happening before we were out in the streets. That was just a powerful statement, the Black Fist is an important part of our history. Did your family have any comment when they saw the board graphic?
They just liked it a lot, they were stoked on it.
It’s beautiful, I was very proud of you when you turned pro in the first place but when I saw the board I thought, “Damn this is so nice to see.” I’m sure they sold out, but I’ll try getting one, so I can have it in my office for my students to see.
We’re about to re-release them and have some of the proceeds go to this organization that helps with children that don’t have access to proper schooling, just to give them other activities to help enrich their brains.
A way to take care of the next generation.
Yeah, yeah.
Also, congratulations on being in the cover of Thrasher and your Thrasher interview too. We need everyone to be celebrated and talked about. Also, congrats on filming your part for the US Road to Tokyo video. I’m excited to see it.
I don’t know if my part was perfect, but I gave them my best. It was early morning (laughing).
Yeah mornings are pretty tough, but you made your best effort. Speaking of efforts, have you gone on tour in the US and abroad since turning pro?
In 2019, I pretty much touched every country there is except for China.
I’m very interested in how you experienced being a Black woman on tour and dealing with everyday racism.
I do have a story. When I was on tour in a US state I could really feel it. Just for being tomboy-ish, I’d get mad looks!
Where was that at?
I was in a US state, and I went into the Starbucks and all eyes were on me. I was like… What did I do?
Damn… and if you have the skate steeze going on I’m sure people thought “Yo, what is she doing in them jeans, wtf?”
Exactly! That was the most uncomfortable I’ve ever felt.
And you were just doing a regular life thing, going into Starbucks.
Yeah, I was just trying to get a coffee!
Did you experience race differently while you were on tour outside of the US?
Yeah, in a EU country I had a racist experience, especially with Thaynan [Costa]. The hotel we were staying in, the lady she was just scared of him because he has darker tone skin and just me being Black and walking around you just get those looks. Then in another EU country I was in the airport trying to eat my food, it was the same situation, all eyes on me! But I didn’t feel it the same way I felt when I was in that US State. There I felt like… Are they going to attack me? But when I was in Europe I was more nervous not fearful. It was also the first time I was in a country where I was the only person of colour in the whole terminal. I couldn’t tell if they were mad about that or if they were like “Oh wow, you’re absolutely different from all of us”, and they were just in shock that they were seeing me.
I know exactly what you mean, I have been there many times. Sometimes you can’t tell and that is difficult as a person of color. You don’t know if it’s a threatening situation or people simply going “I’ve lived here forever and I’ve only seen people that look like me my whole life.” In those instances, you think, “I guess that’s okay but you’re still staring though”
(laughing) Yes, please! Just take your eyes another way.
Yeah like your mum didn’t tell you it wasn’t nice to stare? I think this touches on what I want people to understand with this issue. When we talk about race and discrimination or racial politics and stereotypes, it’s not just the US. Every country has issues and blind spots to how they marginalize people or perpetuate stereotypes, and they often don’t see it. They might even wrap it up in their nationalism, which leads to them thinking their system is perfect. The thing is if much of the country is from the same racial or cultural background, then sure it is probably easier to run the government, etc. People often situate that in their world view. “Look our countries are better than others because we don’t operate in that way.” However, that often ignores how that has happened, their relationships to colonies, or countries where they dominated others and excluded or deterred them from coming home to the ‘mother’ countries after making people subservient. All of those are factors different in every country.
Yeah exactly, it’s just like, if you guys are all on the same wave, you don’t have to worry about different things or different cultures and traditions conflicting, because you’re all on the same cultural basis. It is different than it is in the US.
Exactly. Well just to end on a good note, I just want to say congratulations again. There is still a lot of change needed in every country, but we remain hopeful and we can do it all together.
“If you’re in a place to be able to really take care of yourself then you can continue to help and make change in this world.”
IG: @samarriabrevard
Shop our 6th issue, an educational issue about race HERE.
