Changing the Lineup: the Black Surfers Collective Is Building Confidence in the Waves

(LOS ANGELES, Calif.) – At Dockweiler beach in Los Angeles, the Black Surfers Coalition is making waves. The group gathers here each month to foster inclusivity, provide free surf lessons, and teach water safety.

On this early September morning, 125 people joined co-founder Gregory Rachal – and 55 people jumped on boards for the free surf lessons.

“Our logo is ‘Diversity in the Lineup,’” said Rachal. “We just come out here to share our love of surfing and make sure that people from different communities know that surfing is here for them.”

Under the sun and the occasional airplane taking off from Los Angeles International Airport, Rachal remembered that when he started the collective in 2012, many of the people who wanted to come out had never been to the beach. 

“We pivoted and started working with YMCAs and even the park system to provide free swim lessons as well. And it’s really been instrumental,” he said. 

According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis from 2024, drowning rates for Black children ages 5 to 9 are 2.6 times higher than for white children. Researchers also found that the risks for Black children ages 10 to14 are even greater: they are 3.6 times more likely to drown than their white peers. 

Surf instructor Lizelle Jackson says when she started surfing she didn’t see many people who looked like her riding the waves, a trend she is eager to change. 

“As you’re paddling and you’re riding these waves, it’s not only fun, right? It’s necessary; it’s healing,” she said. “It feels amazing now to be able to be a part of changing that narrative for so many people, right? And, like, reconnecting people to the ocean.”

This was 26-year-old Sydney Schliesing’s fifth lesson with the collective. 

“It’s definitely giving me more confidence to come,” she said. “I’ve gotten my own surfboard now, and I don’t think I would have that confidence if it wasn’t for them,” Schliesing said, adding, “What makes the Black Surfers Collective so cool and so different from just like a surfing lesson is the community that comes with it.”