Celebrating Juneteenth With Sailors of Every Color

Last year we celebrated the first Juneteenth federal holiday. It was designated in recognition of June 19, 1865, when Union General Gordon Granger announced the end of slavery and the Civil War to enslaved African Americans. We wrote about Juneteenth for the first time in 2022. We recognized many sailing organizations that work hard to “change both the perception and reality of diversity within sailing.” Local organizations Call of the Sea, Spaulding Marine Center, Blue Water Foundation, Pegasus Sailing, Treasure Island Sailing Center, Afterguard Sailing, and others have been using their platforms to expand sailing’s reach to make both the sport and the industry more accessible to people of all colors.

But things are often not what they seem. Although we wrote about sailing as having a “historically white heritage,” and about our need to ensure opportunities are available to everyone, reader Barry Spanier commented on our story, “Many civilizations with people ‘of color’ navigated by sail with considerable success thousands of years ago. Sailing has always been the most inclusive simply because it was necessary for trade and travel until just a hundred years ago. The Arabs, Chinese, and the Wandering Polynesian peoples had sailing quite well under their control …”

We agree with Barry, to an extent. These cultures all did indeed sail as part of their custom, their heritage, and often their way of life. The record books are also full of sailors of color who “served on American vessels during the American Revolution.” Most of our internet search on this topic referred to anyone who worked on a ship, regardless of its propulsion method — though usually it was powered — as a sailor. And in this interpretation, yes, historically “sailing” is diverse. But the reality is, that as a sport involving sailing, with sails, it has been historically a “white heritage,” and we applaud everyone who is working to change not only that perception, but also that reality.

On a national scale, US Sailing, for example, has been actively improving outreach and growing and supporting diversity within sailing.

So say what you will, regardless of your views on sailing’s heritage, we believe it really is for everyone, and we are grateful to the organizations and people making inclusion a reality.