Skating had its heyday in Washington in the 1970s, when everyone used to meet at “Kalorama Road”—the National Roller Skating Rink at 17th and Kalorama in Adams Morgan. African-Americans who had honed their style on paved streets and in church basements during the days of segregation now glided to pipe-organ music on the dusty public rink, and legends were born in skate clubs like the Supreme Wheelers and Midnight Rollers. In a city of racial unrest and violence, skating was an escape.
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