Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego

Join us for Lecture on the Move, an in-gallery conversation, featuring Dr. Neftalie Williams, sociologist, SDSU assistant professor, and director of the Center for Skateboarding, Action Sports & Social Change, and Maru Lopez, MCASD’s Manager of Education. 

Rolling in Realness: DIY Culture in Blackness and Beyond 

Dr. Neftalie Williams will examine the global Black diaspora's DIY (Do-It-Yourself) aesthetic through art, music, movement, and cultural production in the Dean Collection, drawing on Black, Indigenous, Asian American, and other communities of color across the US, Cuba, Brazil, the Netherlands, and beyond. Using sociological theory alongside cultural history, Williams will explore how youth culture, activism, and creative expression—especially action sports like skateboarding, BMX, surfing, and snowboarding—intersect with artists in the Dean Collection (Gordon Parks, Kehinde Wiley) and cultural figures like Virgil Abloh, Beyoncé, and Pharrell Williams. The talk traces how DIY permeates borders through music, fashion, and public space, becoming an everyday practice of identity, fellowship, resistance, and collective imagination. Ultimately, Williams frames DIY as a diasporic tool for preserving cultural memory and building freer futures for all people. 

This program is intended for adult audiences. Capacity is limited to 50 participants. This program is free with Museum admission. Admission can be paid online or upon arrival.

Dr. Neftalie Williams is a sociologist, SDSU assistant professor, and director of the Center for Skateboarding, Action Sports & Social Change. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Waikato and is author of the award-winning book The Skateboard Life: Movers, Shakers, Makers & Rulebreakers, recognized with Nautilus and Booktique honors. His landmark USC x Tony Hawk Foundation research examines skateboarding's impact on youth education and career paths. As the first "Ambassador of Skateboarding" for the U.S. State Department, he pioneered "skate diplomacy" internationally, and founded "The Nation Skate," a public panel and lecture series on race, diversity, and skate culture.