The Storyville documentary strand on BBC4TV showed a lovely film about the roller skating scene in the USA. Roller rinks are a long-standing part of American popular culture.

There’s a famous roller-skating scene in the great western film, Heaven’s Gate (1980). And the drive-through diner waitress in American Graffiti is on roller skates. There’s a big roller aesthetic in street wear.

The roller rink scene is a bit different. It’s a big cultural thing for the African-American community, who enjoy family outings to the rink. Everyone gets on.

But, the rinks are closing because of zonal planning (rates) and because there is a huge misunderstanding about large groups of African Americans gathering. There are rules and security checks shown that aren’t applied to their white counterparts. The whole thing is beautiful and too sad…

You can watch the film here

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000kxl0/storyville-united-skates