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National Brotherhood of Skiers

At a time when African-Americans on the ski slopes were a rarity and black ski clubs were an exception, Ben F. and Art C. were not deterred from their vision to create a national black ski summit. The two founders met in 1972 after being introduced by a mutual friend while Ben was President of the Four Seasons West Ski Club of Los Angeles and Art was Trip Director of the Sno-Gophers Ski Club of Chicago. They moved forward with a proposal to bring together 13 black ski clubs for an event which was called "A Happening", but was later changed to "Black Summit", at the suggestion of a member of the Jim Dandy Ski Club of Detroit. The Black Summit would represent black skiers coming together at the summit of Ajax mountain. The purpose was, "to identify and discuss problems and subjects which were unique to the black skiing population, ski and socialize", according to Ben.
The historic gathering took place in Aspen, Colorado in 1973 and was attended by over 350 skiers. There was an overall sense of camaraderie that pervaded the event and this same feeling is still [significantly] associated with all Black Summits. The images of this occasion will forever stay in the minds of those who witnessed this event. As the east coast met the west coast, there were discussions of Teo Hyde of Chicago who was recognized as an aspiring contender for a position on the U.S. Ski Team. The formation of the national [organization] was set for [Thanksgiving] weekend in 1973 in [Salt Lake City], Utah. At a meeting of some of the club leaders, it was proposed that the primary purpose of the [organization] would be to place a black skier on the U.S. Ski Team. This mission was unanimously embraced by those in attendance. Thus, began the commencement of the first national [organization] of predominantly black ski clubs.

The National Brotherhood of Skiers was chartered in [1974] by the founding ski clubs and [incorporated] as a non-profit [organization] in Illinois in 1975. It received its 501(c)3 designation in 1978. The founding clubs are:

All Seasons Ski Club, Oakland, CA; 
Black Ski, Inc., Washington, D.C; 
Cascaders Ski Club, Chicago, IL; 
Chicago Ski Twisters, Chicago, IL; 
4 Seasons Northwest, Seattle, WA; 
4 Seasons West Ski Club, Inc., Los Angeles, CA; 
Inner City Ski Bums, [Cleveland, OH]; 
Jim Dandy Ski Club, Detroit, MI; 
Slippers-N-Sliders Ski Club, Denver, CO;
Sno-Burners Ski Club, New York, NY;
Sno-Gophers Ski Club, Chicago, IL; 
Sno-Rovers Ski Club, Boston, MA; and 
Ujama Ski Club, Compton, CA.

Black Summit '75 was hosted by the Sno-Gophers Ski Club and was held in Sun Valley, Idaho. Over 750 skiers attended this Summit. The clubs in attendance elected Ray M. of Black Ski, Inc. as the first President.

History continued to be made with the NBS as Olympian, Bonnie St. John-Dean was the winner of two Bronze and combined Silver medals at the 1984 Paralympics in Innsbruck, Austria. NBS progress continues. Jahi Rohrer of Denver, Colorado and Andre and Suki Horton of Anchorage, Alaska have competed in the US National Championships since 1996. Andre is a member of the US Ski Team Development team and Suki Horton skis for the Western Elite Ski Team of the USSA Western Region.

Today the [organization] has grown to 84 clubs [representing] 41 cities with a reach of 20,000 adults and youth. The NBS is recognized by the ski industry as one of the largest ski organizations and its Summit as the largest gathering of skiers, more than any other ski convention in the [United States].

The organizations websites is nbs.org.

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