SYMPOSIUMS AND KEYNOTES
Finding a Line : Skateboarding, Music and Media 2018
Ford Theater Los Angeles
The Nation Skate: Exploring Race and Diversity in Skateboarding Culture Discussion and Art exhibition
This series of panel discussion on diversity and short film screenings, culminated in a live performance by jazz pianist Jason Moran and his band The Bandwagon while local skateboarders shred a ramp on the Ford stage. "Finding a Line was built on the spirit of organic engagement and innovation," said curator Neftalie Williams. "The Nation Skate X CSEF art show and the panel discussion on diversity, gender equity and academia, gives us all the opportunity to reflect on the experiences of skateboarding culture and provides a creative platform to discuss the past, present and future milestones of the global skateboarding community."
The LA84 Foundation Youth Sports summit 2017
LA84 Foundation
Sports Biodiversity: Creating Opportunities and Access
The time is now to create opportunities for all kids. See how the Sports Biodiversity: Creating Opportunities and Access panel at the 2017 LA84 Foundation Summit highlights inclusion across a wide variety of sports all set for inclusion in the Tokyo 2021 Olympics.
Panelists: Vina Tinoco, Executive Director & Founder, Next Up Foundation -Maricela Rosales, Outdoor Community Advocate, Latino Outdoors -Dave Prodan, SVP of Global Brand Identity, World Surf League Moderated by Neftalie Williams
The Nation Skate: Diplomacy, Diversity, and Global Engagement through Skateboarding 2017
USC Visions & Voices, neftalie williams
The Nation Skate explores the intersectional nature of skateboarding culture in an attempt to understand what it might contribute to current questions regarding diversity, civic and cultural engagement, academia, sport and diplomacy. The Nation Skate builds upon Neftalie's work as a lecturer on skateboarding culture, skateboarding envoy for the US State Department and his PhD thesis at the University of Waikato, Colour in the Lines: 'Understanding the African-American and POC Experience in Skateboarding Culture.
Hinckley Institute of Politics 2018
Utah Valley University Office of Global Engagement
Skateboarding Diplomacy-What You Can Do for Your Country
In this lecture, Neftalie discusses how his love of skateboarding culture manifested into a call to action to develop the concept of ‘skate diplomacy’ as a way to engage skateboarding, academia and cultural institutions globally. He hoped to inspire others to develop their own unique vision and reframe their passions in a manner to help create positive dialogues and communication between global publics. This discussion is a reminder that the everyday actions of individual citizens can exemplify the spirit of public diplomacy, and act as the foundation for sparking dialogue between communities at home and abroad in a way that supports the best of American ideals.
Changes the LGBTQ Experience in Sports 2016
USC Annenberg Institute of Sports, Media and Society and adidas
Breaking the Barrier in Action Sports: A conversation with pro skater Vanessa Torres and Neftalie Williams
The USC Annenberg and the Annenberg Institute of Sports, Media and Society were honored to host professional skateboarder, Vanessa Torres in conversation with Neftalie Williams. Torres’ career has spanned over a decade and she is a significant force in promoting gender equity in skateboarding and an advocate for women, POC and the LGBTQA community.
Pushing Boarders Conference UK, 2018
Pushing Boarders
Race, Skateboarding and the Power of Imagined Communities
Neftalie Williams and Karl Watson take a look at the historical contribution of people of colour within skateboarding and discuss their own experiences, reflecting on the notion of a shared identity both as a skateboarder and as a person of colour, and the role of skateboarding as a tool for cultural diplomacy.
Ambassador John Price & Marcia Price World Affairs Lecture Series 2018
UTAH COUNCIL FOR CITIZEN DIPLOMACY
Skateboarding as a tool for diplomacy
The Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy, a Global Ties U.S. Community Based Member, welcomed Neftalie Williams to the Ambassador John Price & Marcia Price World Affairs Lecture Series as a guest speaker on September 4, 2018. During his lecture, Williams highlighted the role of skateboarding as a tool of diplomacy, bringing together people of various communities through the world of sport.
The LA84 Skateboarding Non-Profit and education Summit 2015
LA84 Foundation, neftalie williams
On Tuesday November 15th, hosted by the LA84 Foundation, Williams convened a round-table forum of skateboarding NGOs in order to help the LA84 Foundation understand and support the non-profits that support the skateboarding community from the Greater Los Angeles to San Diego. The conversation centered on the rise of diversity in the skateboarding populace and how skateboarding represents a new way to empower minority and underserved communities. Through this convening LA84 learned who these groups serve and what obstacles they face in their work and in what ways LA84 might support their work in the future. It also included discussion of how to include academia as a partner to create new pathways for collaboration.
CONFERENCE PAPERS
LSA Conference 2018 / Bath, UK
Mobilising Change: Creative and Critical Leisure Practices in the Post-disciplinary Era
Pushing Forward: Exploring avenues for African-American and US minority protest and social change through skateboarding culture
Abstract: The literature on skateboarding culture has continued to grow over the past two decades. However, few have considered the lived experiences of African-American and US minorities in the skateboarding culture, industry and sport. In this paper I drew upon extensive media analysis and interviews with thirty skateboarders from minority groups in the US to reveal the different racial struggles, strategies and politics since the 1960s. Drawing upon Critical Race Theory (Bonnie- Silva, 2006) and Cultural Studies (Hall, 1983) approaches, it demonstrates how skateboarding culture has been infused with various elements of US African American and minority experiences and expression which has contributed to skateboarding culture’s appeal in important, yet largely unexplored, ways. Prioritizing the voices and lived experiences of African-American and skaters of colour, this research also challenges previous academic scholarship, and popular and commercial presentations of skateboarding culture, by presenting skateboarding as an important cultural space for protest, advocacy and subtle and nuanced change in different socio-cultural-political contexts.
North American Society for the Sociology of Sport Conference 2018 / Vancouver, BC
Sport Soundtrack: Sport, Music, and Culture
Music & Action Sports: Examining Soundscapes of Emerging Sport Cultures Organizer/Moderator: Neftalie Williams
Sonic ‘Youts’, Public Enemies, Minor Threats and ‘Real MC’s’: Reinterpreting US Racial Formations through the aural landscapes of skateboarding culture
Abstract: Over the past decade, skateboarding has been increasingly present in various Black musical forms, and particularly hip-hop. Musical stars such as Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz, Pharrell, Lenny Kravitz, and others, have featured skateboarding in their music videos and have publicly connected with skateboarding via art, fashion and philanthropic causes. Some scholars have suggested that such cultural relationships are one-direction, with skateboarding simply supplementing the ‘fad’ or popularity of hip-hop. In this paper, I draw upon interviews with 40 key members of the US skateboarding culture and extensive media analysis to critically examine the historical relationship between skateboarding and ‘Black’ and ‘White’ musical styles, and how such musical and cultural influences impacted the racial dynamics of skateboarding culture. Drawing upon Critical Race Theory, I explain that as people of colour increasingly became cultural intermediaries within skateboarding culture, the sounds from varied soundscapes ranging from hip-hop and jazz to punk rock and hardcore became blended into a seamless representational component for individual skateboarders. This created a larger musical vocabulary for skateboarding culture, which creatively bridged the gaps typically present between different US cultures. Ultimately, this reveals the strategies, movements and organic alliances that have come to represent the complex multicultural soundscape of skateboarding culture.
Cultural Studies Association of Australasia Conference 2017 / Wellington, NZ
The Politics of Action Sport Cultures in Local and Global Contexts
The African American and Minority Experience in U.S. Skateboarding Culture Project
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics represents the first-time skateboarders perform before the Olympic rings. As skateboarding continues to spread across the globe, there has been little exploration into the role of POC within this global sport. In this presentation, I outlined my understanding of Critical Race Theory to begin an examination of the lived experiences of African American and POC who have played key roles in US skateboarding culture. In so doing, this research aims to understand if there is potential power in skateboarding to create new racial politics which might empower communities of colour.