{"id":2354,"date":"2023-03-31T22:56:57","date_gmt":"2023-03-31T22:56:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/news\/community\/melanated-jump-squad\/"},"modified":"2023-03-31T22:56:57","modified_gmt":"2023-03-31T22:56:57","slug":"melanated-jump-squad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/news\/community\/melanated-jump-squad\/","title":{"rendered":"Melanated Jump Squad"},"content":{"rendered":"

This Leimert Park group is bringing back a lost art that’s rooted in Black culture.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Mocha Moms Los Angeles partnered with Melanated Jump Squad for a Double Dutch jump roping event in Leimert Park. Photos by Jason Lewis<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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By Blake Carter<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

During the later decades of the 20th century, it was commonplace to see young Black girls skipping jump ropes in front of their homes or on school playgrounds.  In the 1970s Double Dutch became a sport when two Black New York City police officers, David A. Walker and Ulysses Williams, created the Double Dutch League and hosted citywide competitions.  These competitions were a space for young girls from urban communities to see their favorite street activity being placed on a larger stage where they could showcase their unique talents.<\/span><\/p>\n

Like the early days of Hip Hop music, Double Dutch quickly spread to Black communities around the nation.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Me being from the West Coast (Los Angeles), I learned from my neighbors across the street, and they were also from out here,” said Courtney Tell, co-founder of the Melanated Jump Squad.  “It’s also interesting that In every state and every city you’ll find young girls or young kids playing, they all have their own lingo for different styles of jumping.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Today jump rope is not as popular as it once was, so Tell, along with Sharalle Horn, who is from Brooklyn, New York, created the Melanated Jump Squad, and they hold an open session once a month in Leimiert Park Village on Sundays at the African Marketplace along Degnan Boulevard.<\/span><\/p>\n

“We’re bringing this back to the forefront,” Horn said.  “A lot of people did it back in the day, and it’s lost its way a little bit.  But it’s something fun, and it’s a cultural thing as well.  For young people who don’t know much about it, it’s amazing to them.  And for those who did it years ago, it comes back to them and they get excited about it.  It has that retro feel, and people want to do it again.”<\/span><\/p>\n