African American Skydivers

[dzolloyd 0]

How many licensed African/American skydivers do you have at your DZ? Approximately how many black 1st timers per year?

GET SOME, altitude!

[kenneth21441 0]

What kind of race question is this?

it does not matter as far as Im concerned if they are black, white , or pink.

They just want to come out and jump.

Kenneth Potter
FAA Senior Parachute Rigger
Tactical Delivery Instructor (Jeddah, KSA)
FFL Gunsmith

[steveorino 7]

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What kind of race question is this?

it does not matter as far as Im concerned if they are black, white , or pink.

They just want to come out and jump.

I don't think Lloyd is saying it matters. Have you not ever been curious about a subgroup? I work for Lloyd and he treats ALL skydivers and customers the same. No prejudice.

Would he be a sexist if he asked how many women jump at your DZ. Geesh!

steveOrino

[dzolloyd 0]

All African/Americans wanting to make a skydive are welcome at my DZ. Lately we had the cast of "The Lion King" make a few jumps here. However, there are not many that chose to do so. We have none that are licensed. We prolly have about 10-20 per year that make a first jump but never come back for a second. They all have a great time when here and leave with great memories. Just wondering why they do not stay in the sport and wondering if it was the same elsewhere. Sorry if I offended you.

GET SOME, altitude!

[SBS 0]

I had a conversation with a black guy about skydiving and it went like this:

Him: You white guys are CRAZZY!
Me: Yeah, we don't see many black guys out at the dz.
Him: Wanna know why?
Me: Sure
Him: Lemme take you down my neighborhood, I'll show you extreme sport.

I have the impression that they don't feel like they need to look for excitement or danger much more than they have in their everyday lives.

I don't have anything to base this on, but I would guess that there can't be much more than a dozen regular jumpers that are black in all of California. But of course, I haven't been to all the dz's, it's just a wild guess.

Oh, another story:

Me: See you tomorrow
Him (In Trinidad accent): Nope, not coming out tomorrow
Me: Why not?
Him: Tomorrow is Leon's day.
Me: What?
Him: We're only allowed one black man on the dropzone at a time.

It was funny stuff.

-S

_____________
I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

[mktoson 0]

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Me: See you tomorrow
Him (In Trinidad accent): Nope, not coming out tomorrow
Me: Why not?
Him: Tomorrow is Leon's day.
Me: What?
Him: We're only allowed one black man on the dropzone at a time.

It was funny stuff.

-S

Yeah, I know how that is. That's why I'm so glad Mike Braylark left Skydive Carolina. With him and I there we were 1 over the black quota. But with him gone I can claim the title of best black freeflyer in the state of South Carolina. I just leave out the part that I'm the only one.

I've only jumped with 2 other black guys, my brother Leon and Mike. Both are bad ass flyers. I on the other hand, suck.

So far, this is the oldest I've ever been.

[sweetmoose 0]

I have an african american (I really hate that term, I would rather just call them americans.........unless they were born in africa and moved here since) co-worker, and he seems interested in skydiving, even wanted to watch some of the skydiving videos I bought, but he just doesn't do it cause he doesn't want his son growing up without a dad..........or he's scared.

We die only once, but for such a very long time.

I'll believe in ghosts when I catch one in my teeth.

[eflynn 0]

As a black skydiver here's what I think it is.

1. It's much easier to do something new or different, which I think we'll all agree jumping out a plane is, when there are people who look like you who do it. I realize this concept may seem a little foreign to most of the people who read this because generally, you're surrounded by people who look like you. Ever wonder why there's usually a table of black people at the work picnic? "For every minute in the sky we spend an hour on the ground."Skydiving is a social sport and if you don't think you'll be comfortable simply talking to a person the notion of jumping out a plane with them and trusting your life to them is the furthest thing from your mind.

2. There's a common misconception that skydivers are wild ass bikers, or drunks who jump between shots of jaeger. A friend of mine I jump with Bryan works with the cousin of a guy I grew up with. Bryan's been trying to get him to jump for years and his response has always been something along the lines of "There's no way I'm jumping out a plane. Brothers just don't do that." Bryan's response was "There's a black guy at my dz (me) who jumps. He can't get enough." He responded "There's no regular brother who's going to jump out a plane. He must be different or in the military." So anyway, my friend's cousin and I bump into each other during all star weekend in Atlanta a few years ago. We're catching up and I mention I skydive and his eyes get big. "Do you know a guy named Bryan?" "Yeah I know Bryan, we jump together all the time." "YOU skydive?" "Yeah I skydive and I'm still the same guy who used to ride bikes with your cousin, talk about who looked better between Vanity and Apollonia, and begged his mother for a pair of Jordan 1s in '85." He laughed and looked at me as if to say "You're regular just like me and you jump out of planes." All this to say most skydivers are just regular people but for whatever reason you have to have a conversation with one to realize it. I've had similar experiences with white people as well.

3. Most other sports you don't have to make as much of an effort to get involved. Football, tennis, soccer, swimming, basketball... most sports you can get involved with in high school and continue if you'd like to by simply going to the nearest gym, park, or via intramurals in college. Skydiving isn't as simple. Factor that in with the previous items and it's not just something you stumble into.

To answer the initial question, other than myself a friend of mine named Sharon jumps, I met a guy whose name I don't remember at Deland, and back when I first started jumping there was a guy named CC who lived in Kentucky I jumped with.

[phoenixlpr 0]

I can ask same kind of question about roma(gipsy)/piky skydivers.

I have not seen/meet any(yet).

[DougH 270]

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I can ask same kind of question about roma(gipsy)/piky skydivers.

I have not seen/meet any(yet).

Brilliant as always!!!

The question has merit, as of the 2002 census 13% of the US population were individuals who reported their ethnicity as Black.

I don't see that 13% represented in our skydiving subculture, I don't even see 8% or 5% or 2%.

Our sport is very diverse in other areas: occupations, age, education, political affiliation, sex, etc.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[sundevil777 93]

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I have an african american (I really hate that term...

I also think that term is ridiculous. Do other majority-white countries use the term, as in: african canadian, african norwegian?

Also, you should make sure a person is an american before putting that term on them - so that a black guy from sweden is not mislabeled an african american. Also, not all black people are descended from Africa. Of course a topic better left to speaker's corner.

Back on topic, the issue has been raised in other threads, a search should bring up recent discussion.

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

Other than the obvious military connection, there just must be something in the water at Raeford. There are a ton of black guys that skydive there. For that matter, I am positive that the Carolinas have more black folks jumping than any other place I have jumped. Like I said in another thread, I could give a rat's ass what color a guy or girl is, so long as they jump! There are at least six black guys at Raeford with Tandem/AFF or both ratings. We definitely do not see color on that dropzone. For that matter, I have never seen any person of any other skin tone or nationality who was ever treated differently on a dropzone. Well, maybe the old Jordanian military team who showed up and routinely stood on the toilet rim and shit from three feet above the bowl! They were not terribly popular in that regard.

Sharon down in Atlanta is fantastic! I am great friends with her!

Oddly, my dad has run the dropzone on Moton Field in Tuskeegee, Alabama for nearly 20 years. In all that time, I don't think I could ever count more than two black jumpers who routinely jumped there who did not come over from Fort Benning. That said, his head pilot is a tremendously large black redneck named Clem. He's truly my brother from another mother.

I have also introduced at least five black guys to wingsuit flight at boogies. That's three more than the number of Japanese people I have trained.

Chuck

[StevieBoy 0]

When the door opens and you look into the eyes of the next jumper, there is no colour. Just another skydiver.

When you walk through life, look into anybodys eyes, just another survivor.

Steve

it deosn't mttaer waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm.

[d20111 0]

Reminds me of a funny line way back when I was just a student. One of the Military demo teams dropped by on a Friday afternoon. The jumped with a few of the licensed skydivers. At the end one of the day one of the demo team guys signs the log book of one of the regulars and says "I bet that's the first time a black guy signed your log book"....Regular "yes"....Demo team guy "Case of Beer!"...

[Mr17Hz 1]

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I have the impression that they don't feel like they need to look for excitement or danger much more than they have in their everyday lives.

You need to pull yourself into the year 2007; this is a very out-of-date stereotype and is likely to be insulting to many of the hard working people of African American decent who live lives that are not much different from yours. Inner city ghettos, while a major social problem, make up a very small portion of African American citizens. I work with African Americans in upper management and corporate executive positions on a regular basis. I would be interested to hear why they have any more excitement or danger in their everyday lives than I do.

Prejudice and Stereotypes aside, I think this is a very interesting subject: African American participation in skydiving is considerably lower than the African American to everyone else ratio if you look at “out of poverty” census statistics. Those in the poverty class, white, black, blue, orange.. I don’t care what color or race – are not skydivers.

This makes me wonder if its cause more by genetic reasons than social and economical reasons – I wonder if the desire for adrenaline release is just not as great in those of African American decent. I’ve seen articles in the past that attempt to identify a link between adrenaline junkies and genetics, but none of them have brought up the genetic differences in race and ethnicity. It would be interesting to see the results of scientific studies of this type, not only in the skydiving industry – but in other extreme sports.

Matt Christenson

[email protected]
http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

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This makes me wonder if its cause more by genetic reasons than social and economical reasons – I wonder if the desire for adrenaline release is just not as great in those of African American decent. I’ve seen articles in the past that attempt to identify a link between adrenaline junkies and genetics, but none of them have brought up the genetic differences in race and ethnicity. It would be interesting to see the results of scientific studies of this type, not only in the skydiving industry – but in other extreme sports.

I don't buy that at all. I bet the black skydivers reading it are laughing their asses off, too.

[Newbie 0]

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I have the impression that they don't feel like they need to look for excitement or danger much more than they have in their everyday lives.

You need to pull yourself into the year 2007; this is a very out-of-date stereotype and is likely to be insulting to many of the hard working people of African American decent who live lives that are not much different from yours. Inner city ghettos, while a major social problem, make up a very small portion of African American citizens. I work with African Americans in upper management and corporate executive positions on a regular basis. I would be interested to hear why they have any more excitement or danger in their everyday lives than I do.

Prejudice and Stereotypes aside, I think this is a very interesting subject: African American participation in skydiving is considerably lower than the African American to everyone else ratio if you look at “out of poverty” census statistics. Those in the poverty class, white, black, blue, orange.. I don’t care what color or race – are not skydivers.

This makes me wonder if its cause more by genetic reasons than social and economical reasons – I wonder if the desire for adrenaline release is just not as great in those of African American decent. I’ve seen articles in the past that attempt to identify a link between adrenaline junkies and genetics, but none of them have brought up the genetic differences in race and ethnicity. It would be interesting to see the results of scientific studies of this type, not only in the skydiving industry – but in other extreme sports.

I totally agree with your 1st and 2nd paragraphs. That "im out dodging bullets in the hood, i dont need to jump out of planes to get a rush" is a bizarre unfounded sterotype.

That aside, i don't skydive for adrenalin. If anything, the adrenalin is something i don't like - it is simply a useful byproduct to keep me on my toes in what can be a high stress situation. I skydive because it brings me as close to human flight as i can get at this point in time, not because of "the mad buzz" i get.

I think there are T type personalities, or however you wish to refer to them, that crave that excitement, rush of adrenalin or whatever, but the way i see it, the reason there aren't more black skydivers is precisely summed up in what eflynn said above. I don't think its as complicated as a "genetic predisposition".

"Skydiving is a door"
Happythoughts

[skinnyshrek 0]

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How many licensed African/American skydivers do you have at your DZ? Approximately how many black 1st timers per year?

I know of 2. We get quite a few black tandems. As long as they have fun. I am sure some idiots on here will try and turn this into a racist issue but it's a legitimate question. You could ask the same question about skiing and swimming. Basing a question on race is not racism.
I bet if you asked what race do more tandems in hawaii? Your answer would be japanese is that a racist comment

http://www.skydivethefarm.com

do you realize that when you critisize people you dont know over the internet, you become part of a growing society of twats? ARE YOU ONE OF THEM?

[Digitalmafia 0]

Interesting question-I remember similar questions being posed when I was sufing daily in Northern California.
I went through my AFF1 course with a guy who was from India - here for a contract gig for a few years. He told me that he wouldnt tell his family (mom/dad etc) in India what he was doing because no one really skydives in India (they would NEVER understand) - Just not something culturally that they do (he said). We both graduated AFF n I see him once in a while at the DZ - always thought he was pretty cool as for him, skydiving, was probably a much more difficult thing to attempt then it was for me (I grew up wanting to do it).
The cool thing about skydiving is:
No matter who you are or where your from if you skydive - you simply are a skydiver...there is no grey area - you toss yourself outta planes like I do (we all do) and that makes us the same on several levels-this isnt the case in many sports-I see no segregation in skydiving- you either do it or you don't. It surpasses gender and race in that way. If your not a skydiver...you just wouldnt understand ;)
dm.

[Eule 0]

There were some threads on this in spring 2005 and summer 2006.

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I work for Lloyd and he treats ALL skydivers and customers the same. No prejudice.

... ah... *gasp*... ... Opinions vary.

Eule

PLF does not stand for Please Land on Face.

[BillyVance 34]

I rarely see any black skydivers, but have known at least 3. Larry Grasty in Mobile, AL jumps at Gold Coast Skydivers. The other two I met were at Cross Keys during their 100 way state record events in the late 90's.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[1snowangel 0]

Marquis, you are so full of shit!!!
(about sucking compared to Mike and Leon)
Miss being your trailor trash naighbor at BSA!

[mktoson 0]

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Miss being your trailor trash naighbor at BSA!

Yeah, the property value of my lot went down when you and Keith moved next door......and that says a lot coming from a black guy!

I miss BSA!!!!

So far, this is the oldest I've ever been.

[VincentVL. 0]

I have always been wondering how many Jews died because of skydiving related incidents, but was afraid to ask.

[eflynn 0]

If you're who I think you are you can add one more to the list. I'm pretty sure I met you when we were both visiting Russel at a spinal recovery center a few years back when he got hurt. I jumped at Monroe and now I'm still looking for a new home.