Chicago Skating Collective Focuses on Inclusivity by Building Bonds, …

froSkate attendees braved skating on the rain-slick concrete at the Wilson Skate Park, 700 W. Wilson Ave., on Oct. 26, 2023. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

The atmosphere at the skate park has to be just right for Randi Rogers to stick around.

While she’s stretching, she’ll see how others interact with the space — if they’re being disrespectful or rough, she’ll be checking how many exit points there are. But if it’s a welcoming space, she’ll skate, she said.

The last meetup of the season for froSkate fit the bill.

“They make an environment where it’s easy to be a beginner, it’s easy to not know people and find someone to talk to and work on a trick together,” said Rogers, who’s been skating for more than a decade.

On a windy and rainy evening in late October, froSkate, a skate collective centered around people of color, women and queer people, met in Uptown for the last time in 2023. It was a bittersweet cap to an incredible year for Karlie Thornton, the…