Brown Girl Surf is comitted to creating a surf culture where all people feel welcome, included, and empowered. Sometimes this looks like holding community surf events, other times it looks like advocating for environmental policies or fighting for equitable beach access.

check out our current actions and campaigns to get involved

Pacifica State Beach Access Campaign

Due to restrictive and exclusionary permitting processes, many nonprofits that serve underrepresented communities are not able to operate at several State beaches throughout California. Since 2018, BGS has been working at the city and state level to influence land managers to consider equitable access in permitting systems.

At Pacifica State Beach (Linda Mar Beach) nonprofits and community organizations have historically been excluded from operating on Pacifica State Beach because of an outdated and restrictive permitting system. After the outpour of support gathered at the 2020 Pacifica Peace Paddle Out, the City of Pacifica formed a Surf Camp Special Task Force to discuss the creation of an equitable permitting system. Brown Girl Surf, along with City Surf, proposed the Community Access Permit Partnership (CAPP) to increase beach access for historically excluded communities.

Check out our “What’s happening in Pacifica” summary to learn about the waves of change that we and allies have made in Pacifica so far and why it is important to racial equity.

UPDATE: A resolution has been made! Check out our “Resolution Summary” doc to learn about the most recent success - the APPROVAL of the CAPP proposal

While we can take a moment to rest, the journey is not over. Brown Girl Surf is continuing to work with the City of Pacifica, the California Coastal Commission, and our allies as the CAPP and all systems supporting it are implemented in Pacifica over the next year. We will continue to expand this path to equity for future groups and organizations wishing to share the ocean with their community.