Darlene Anderson

Darlene Anderson (born March 19, 1939) is an American roller derby skater. Anderson became the first African American woman to play professional roller derby when she was chosen as the first pick for the Brooklyn Red Devils in 1957.

Life and skating career

Anderson was born and raised in Pasadena, California. She had four siblings, three of which were older brothers.

She graduated from John Muir High School in 1957.

Anderson trained for eighteen months at the Western Skating Institute in Los Angeles. Anderson traveled across the U.S. with her team, but she would be sent home to California when the teams performed in the segregated South. Looking back, Anderson reflected: "They knew I wouldn't be able to eat with them or live with them, and they didn't want me to go through that. I was the only Black person, and they were so nice and trying to make me at home. Even though it didn't register that they were trying to look out for me, they were trying to keep me safe." In her first year, she earned $75 a week. She also worked for a consulting firm, training people to get positions in show business.