Overview:
"Kayaktivism" refers to a type of environmental activism where kayakers organize paddles around issues impacting the health of the water and earth. The Rich City Rays was formed in 2021 and drew its inspiration from a similar group in Portland. They offer workshops for BIPOC community members.
Water sports can be expensive, putting such activities out of reach for many marginalized groups. But the Richmond-based Rich City Rays is changing that one paddle at a time, focusing on introducing Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) and other disenfranchised groups to kayaking.
Through paddle workshops that also teach their unique brand of environmental activism, participants learn water skills and how they can advocate for a cleaner world.
At a recent two-day workshop called an action camp, 21 kayakers, many of them amateurs, formed a misshapen rainbow diamond on the south Richmond shoreline and launched into the bay.
While some of them only had a small amount of experience kayaking, the camp gave them the skills and confidence needed to paddle the open ocean.
The moment was something one of Rich City Rays‘ founders, Luna Angulo of Richmond, had been looking forward to for quite some time.
“It’s been really beautiful, being able to host these BIPOC paddles,” Angulo said. “It’s such a powerful experience, taking people out on the water in ways that they otherwise, really wouldn’t do.”
Origins of the Rich City Rays
The Rich City Rays are a “kayaktivist” organization, combining kayaking with activism. They’re most well known for paddling in front of oil tankers in protest, usually with colorful signs advocating against the use of fossil fuels. Their first fully-fledged protest was in the fall of 2022 to mark both the 10th anniversary of the 2012 Chevron refinery explosion and draw attention to a major oil spill in February of 2021. In May of 2024, they launched from Point Molate carrying signs saying “‘Abolish Chevron.” In October, they paddled to the Levin-Richmond Terminal to protest coal imports and to raise awareness of the port’s role in transporting fossil fuels across the Bay Area.
As Angulo explained, “Part of the goal is to show these oil companies that they are not untouchable, that they cannot go around polluting our water, our soil, our backyards, our bodies, without the people taking a stand against it.”
The Rich City Rays was founded in 2021. Angulo says the group started with four friends looking to make a difference and found its inspiration in the Mosquito Fleet, another kayaktivist group in Portland. This form of activism merged their goals of environmental justice with their mission to give communities of color access to and a connection with the water. (The two now consider themselves sister organizations and often work together).
From there, the organization has grown rapidly, from just four people to 90. They now have their own fleet of kayaks and equipment and can host community paddles, largely for people in the BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities.
“Kayaking is, historically, a white-dominated sport,” Angulo explained. “So part of why we organize is to change that narrative, to put black and brown youths on kayaks — and you know, really allow people to reclaim their right to have a relationship with the land and water.”
Rich City Rays also raising awareness about intersection of racism and pollution
Getting marginalized communities out on the water isn’t the organization’s only goal. It also draws attention to the impacts of the Chevron refinery and the intersection between racism and pollution.
“The story [of Richmond] told, which I think has a lot of value to it, is one of an industrial town that helped us win the war, that has played a big role in the development of the West Coast and the development of the country in general.” Angulo said. “But also, associated with that is all these toxins.”
An example of environmental racism, she added, is how wind brings pollution from the refinery to different neighborhoods within Richmond — places that historically have been home to higher percentages of people of color. Angulo was quick to highlight how differently various Richmond neighborhoods are impacted.
“The wind from the refinery does not really blow to Point Richmond consistently like it does in North Richmond and you feel the wind in your face. You feel it facing toward North Richmond, you feel it facing toward the Iron Triangle.”
And for other types of pollution in the soil, she said, “They’re not going to show up in the backyards of people who live in east Richmond. They’re going to go up Baxter Creek, that goes right through Crescent Park, which is a predominantly black and brown community — and that is where the intersection lies.”
Angulo also mentioned the prevalence of asthma in Richmond — a very personal issue for her.
“I grew up with asthma. My younger sister, who also grew up here in Richmond, grew up with asthma.”
In Contra Costa County 11% of residents have asthma (slightly lower than the state average of 13%), but according to a collaborative study between UC Berkeley, UC San Francisco and Lifelong Medical, that number jumps up to 25% in Richmond. Angulo sees this everywhere.
She said at a recent Urban Tilth asthma town hall event she had an opportunity to speak to a group of monolingual Spanish-speaking mothers and what she heard resonated with how she grew up.
“[They are] worried about the conditions of their children, the repeated asthma attacks that they’re having, the issues that they have staying up with their schoolwork and participating in sports in the way they would want to because of these health impacts, and they understand these impacts are directly related to the refinery,” Angulo said. “Even mothers who are not like, ‘politically active’ in any way — they understand that this industry is a big source of harm for the community.”
The prevalence of asthma was a major topic of discussion at the recent action camp. Attendee and panelist Mags Peacock, who came from Corpus Christi, Texas, drew parallels between her home and Richmond. Corpus Christi is built around two refineries and has higher rates of asthma than the rest of Texas. She came to Richmond because she felt a sense of solidarity with the Rich City Rays.
“Under a capitalist system there’s always sacrifice zones, and we’re seeing how extractive industries like Chevron are creating these sacrifice zones in really lovely communities — and it’s happening here in Richmond, and it’s happening in Corpus Christi and all along the Gulf South. So yeah, it has been really lovely to connect with folks from Richmond telling their stories in regards to asthma and cancer and how it [the oil industry] is perpetuating putting profits over people.”
Action camp featured workshops on variety of topics, including climate justice
The Action Camp was attended by a mix of seasoned activists, Richmond natives, and ordinary people from all over the Bay Area who just wanted to be more involved in local issues. Topics ranged from environmental racism, Richmond’s ecology (put on by Callegory), the effects of late-stage capitalism on ordinary people, and how to combat the rise of fascism. Members of the Mosquito Fleet were also there to give presentations on the struggles of Portland. There was one common thread: Power should belong to people, not corporations.
That message seemed to be well-received by attendees, some of whom had only recently heard about the Rich City Rays. Tommy Herrera, a wildlife biologist working on his doctorate at UC Berkeley, joined not because he is an activist but to find a sense of community. When asked about how he felt about kayaking, he was enthusiastic.
“[Kayaking] was great. That was awesome. I’ve never been part of like, yeah, a community action that does this level of effort to provide something like kayaking, an activity sport, and pays for all the gear and everything for someone.”
Angulo said the community building aspect is important, too.
“Part of why we organize is, yes, to create opportunities for people to take action toward a greener future — but also to get the homies out on the water,” she explained. “We’re shown what happens on the water, that like, the people who belong on the water are rich people who can afford yachts and the marine vessels that carry cargo and the ships that dock at the refinery and at the courtyard — and not us, you know?”
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