What happened when Black surfers organized a ‘Peace Paddle’ after being called racial slurs

A recent incident in Manhattan Beach has revived a conversation about who gets to surf. On President's day last month, two Black men, Gage Crismond and Brick Howze, were surfing near Manhattan Beach pier when a white man paddled to them and called them racial slurs. Other white surfers told them that Manhattan Beach is a locals-only beach and that they should surf somewhere else.

While this was happening in the water, someone on the beach snapped photos of the confrontation and later shared them with Crismond and Howze. They then shared those photos on social media, along with a video where they describe what happened to them.

As more people commented and shared their posts, the two men decided to organize a “Peace Paddle” at Manhattan Beach to promote surfing as a sport for everybody. Around 100 people showed up.