These park fans are ready for prime time
These park fans are ready for prime time
Melanin Coaster Network highlights enthusiasts of color
Martina Moore, Jr., whom everybody calls “Prime,” wanted to do something fun with his buddies when they had some downtime during a Georgia road trip a few years ago. That’s how he found himself staring up at an imposing, looping roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia and wondering whether he was up for the challenge.
“Once I experienced the first inversion, I got over my fear,” says Moore, a police officer from Mobile, Alabama. It was his first time visiting a major amusement park and his first big-league thrill ride. Immediately hooked, he quickly decided, “I’ve got to ride more roller coasters.”
That sent him on a journey that ultimately led to the formation of the Melanin Coaster Network, an enthusiast group designed to highlight people of color. In a little over a year, it has attracted hundreds of members and is enjoying tremendous success. Beyond bringing people together that share a passion for parks, MCN is helping to promote diversity in the industry.
Seeking more coaster goodness after his initial Six Flags visit, Moore went online in search of the biggest, baddest thrill machines. That led him to Ohio’s alluring outpost, Cedar Point. Moore says that pulling into the amusement park and seeing its skyline of towering coasters set against Lake Erie was breathtaking. But nothing quite prepared him for a ride aboard one of its most popular attractions, Steel Vengeance.
“That’s the one that changed my life,” Moore says, adding that he became a bona fide coaster and park superfan the moment he disembarked the train. “I was speechless and shocked. I was so filled with joy, I wanted to cry.”
While falling under the spell of RMC’s hyper-hybrid and sampling Cedar Point’s other midway mavens, Moore noticed that there weren’t many people of color at the park on the day that he visited. He wondered why that was and whether it was an anomaly.
“That’s what lit the spark,” says Moore. “I wanted to to reach out to people who look like me and see if they wanted to go to parks.”
He began a small, private group chat on Facebook, which evolved, in February 2022, into the Melanin Coaster Network. The group held its first in-person meetup–known as a “Primetime Link-Up”–on Juneteenth last year at Carowinds in North Carolina. About 25 people attended the event. As they were taking a group photo, a park employee happened upon them and asked them who they were. When Moore explained the reason for their visit, the employee took them to Carowind’s headlining attraction, Fury 325, escorted them onto the train, and announced over the ride’s PA that the Melanin Coaster Network was holding a special event.
After receiving the special attention and seeing the reaction of the park’s staff and guests, Moore says he realized MCN’s potential and committed to taking the group to the next level. He recruited members to help him lead the group, created a logo and a Web site, and developed a business plan.
“That’s what lit the spark,” says Moore. “I wanted to to reach out to people who look like me and see if they wanted to go to parks.”
It turns out there are plenty of people of color who love riding the rails. Since ratcheting up its outreach, MCN’s membership roster has grown to over 1,700 members. Some of them have an interest in the industry that goes deeper than visiting parks. There are engineers, artists, and other professionals that want to help create the magic and fun that parks deliver. Moore says that MCN can serve as a pipeline to connect talented members with job opportunities.
To that end, the group is developing partnerships with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) reps in the industry. Earlier this year, MCN held a Primetime Link-Up at Universal Orlando with about 75 members in attendance. Among the activities were backstage tours, exclusive ride time on attractions, and a professional mixer with members of the park resort’s black employees network. Members were able to socialize with folks on Universal’s team, ask them questions, learn about opportunities, and share resumés with them.
“A couple of college students got interviews on the spot for Universal Creative’s internship program for ride engineers,” Moore notes. “It was incredible.”
Moore is quick to point out that while MCN’s goal is to highlight people of color, anybody, regardless of race, is free and encouraged to join the group.
“We need everybody to get on board to support this no matter their color,” he says.
The relatively new group does not currently charge dues or have a membership portal, although there are plans to introduce both. For now, Moore says that people who want to join the network can simply purchase an MCN shirt.
On Juneteenth (June 19) of 2023, a year after it held its first event, the group will be presenting "Hotlanta," a Primetime Link-Up at the park where it all began for Moore, Six Flags Over Georgia.
“We are shooting for 200 participants, our biggest crowd yet,” the dynamic MCN founder says. “We are on the move.”
Do you belong to a coaster or park enthusiast group? Might you join one?
I love MCN 💙💛
Amazing! A great story to tell