I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.

I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down

into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,

how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,

which is what I have been doing all day.

         – Mary Oliver

Rue Mapp, Founder of Outdoor Afro (Loewe, 2020)

Nature has a unique way of healing the body. It is a safe space, full of peace, quiet, and reflection. However, spending time outdoors, especially in national parks, has not been particularly welcoming to people of color. Ninety-five percent of visitors to national parks are white, further showing that people of color have been historically excluded and underrepresented in these spaces (Nelson, 2018). What many people do not know is that many outdoor spaces were created by people of color. For example, the roads through Yosemite were built by Chinese immigrants (Nelson, 2018). The Buffalo Soldiers, four segregated black regiments of the U.S. army, were assigned to patrol Yosemite and other national parks in the late 1800s and early 1900s (Nelson, 2018). People of color were the foundation of many national parks and other outdoor areas, so the question is: Why are they being excluded from these spaces today? Fortunately, people across the country are working to address this problem.

Rue Mapp has recognized these issues and has been working to facilitate outdoor experiences for Black Americans by founding the program Outdoor Afro (Loewe, 2020). Through this program, Mapp created Healing Hikes, which gives Black Americans the opportunity to spend time in nature and heal in community (Loewe, 2020). Mapp describes the outdoors as “equalizers that don’t judge people based on skin color, gender, or physique,” (Loewe, 2020). Mapp wants to increase the amount of people spending time outdoors, because it may convince people to live a more sustainable life and work towards saving the earth (Loewe, 2020). 

Outdoor Afro is not the only program working towards creating a more inclusive outdoor experience…

Vanessa Garrison and T. Morgan Dixon founded GirlTrek to empower Black girls and women by committing to walk every single day (Turco, 2021).

Chelsea Murphy founded She Colors Nature to connect with other people of color who love the outdoors and bring awareness to how racism appears in the outdoors (Turco, 2021).

Evelynn Escobar-Thomas started Hike Clerb to provide women of color with the tools, resources, and experiences they need to be comfortable and independent in the outdoors (Turco, 2021). 

Teresa Baker created the Outdoor Industry CEO Pledge to get outdoor brands to pledge to increase their marketing towards Black and brown people (Turco, 2021). 

Latino Outdoors was founded to engage Latino communities in the outdoors and embrace the values of culture, family, history, heritage, and leadership (YouTube, 2020).

Hike Clerb (Turco, 2021)

People of color, and especially women of color, across the country are taking the initiative to create safe outdoor spaces for other people of color. By coming together to do this, we can work to create outdoor experiences that are welcoming and inclusive to everyone. If we can accomplish this, we can take even more steps to protect the environment and conserve the beautiful landscapes around us.

 

 

On the backs of my ancestors, this country was built.
So why does our presence continue to wilt?

I am a woman, I am black, such a beautiful combination.
So why do I still have to fight against discrimination? 

Be thin, be flawless, be as perfect as you can be.
Why will I never live up to the standard of beauty?

They say they care about your mind, and want you to share.
So why is our suffering something they are so unaware?

So I’ll tell you this world is hard, it is not for the weak.
But we continue to fight and we will not accept defeat.

– Alena Wesley

References

Basile, L. M. (2019, February 7). Sacred nature: Remembering Mary Oliver. Little Infinite Poetry for Life. Retrieved November 10, 2021, from https://www.littleinfinite.com/sacred-nature-remembering-mary-oliver/.

Loewe, E. (2020, July 24). How Rue Mapp Of Outdoor Afro Is Helping Black Americans Connect & Heal In Nature. mindbodygreen lifestyle. Retrieved November 10, 2021, from https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/rue-mapp-of-outdoor-afro-on-importance-of-healing-hike.

Nelson, G. (2018, June 27). Chinese Americans in yosemite. The Trail Posse. Retrieved November 10, 2021, from https://trailposse.com/2018/06/chinese-americans-in-yosemite/.

Turco, L. D. (2021, February 8). These 5 Organizations Are Working To Make The Great Outdoors More Inclusive. Women’s Health. Retrieved November 10, 2021, from https://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/a35340347/black-women-outdoors-inclusivity/.

YouTube. (2020). Yo Cuento: A Short Documentary. YouTube. Retrieved November 10, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mdo0-BUB9Sc.