OG pro skater Gershon Mosley is catching heavy criticism after posting a lengthy and confrontational statement about race and identity on social media.
In the post, Mosley claimed that “Black” is a caste status that bigoted immigrants imposed on youth through schools.
He also referenced American Indian legal definition legacies and suggested that people who label him Black are either ignorant of their own ancestry or foreigners or government employees.
He ended the message with a blunt line saying that is not what you call him.
The wording immediately drew attention across the skate community. Many readers viewed the comments as dismissive of Black identity and Black American history.
Fellow OG pro skater Clyde Singleton did not stay quiet.
Singleton publicly responded with a pointed message directed at Mosley. Questioning Mosley’s claim of being American Indian, Singleton asked what tribe he is from and where the reservation is.
He also referenced Mosley being from South Central Los Angeles and contrasted that with his own family history.
Singleton went on to mention Jonesville, describing it as one of the first Freedmen cities established after slavery and noting that it existed before the Great Migration.
He challenged Mosley’s remarks about ancestry and legal naming, and made it clear he felt disrespected by the comments.
Singleton closed his response by telling Mosley not to disrespect him, especially when it comes to Black Americans and history, ending with a pointed Happy Black History Month.
Some are defending Mosley’s right to define his identity on his own terms. Others argue that his framing of Black as something imposed dismisses generations of shared history and lived experience.