Unequal access and the outdoors

[Albertan ski girl]

I don't know if any of you have seen this. It came up on my thread via Coalition Snow (@Jen Gurecki) on facebook. I really appreciated this piece - and it reminds me a lot of some of the discussions we've had on the forum. Yes, there are so few women in the outdoors and outdoor industry, but also, where are the women of colour? Often overlooked is the lack of racial diversity. How are the outdoors an example of white privilege?

The FB status reads:
"One look around at all the people participating in the outdoor scene begs the question, “Why are the outdoors so…white?”

https://www.terraincognitamedia.com/features/thank-you-white-privilege-for-the-dirtbag-dream2016

 

[WaterGirl]

Oh pleaeeeeasese. My neighbor is an amazing athlete, african american and has been best friends /w the McCoy family for ever and can do tricks down Hangmans and any other double black at Mammoth. I don't know where this type of BS is coming from. Since DD has native american blood I guess she should get extra special treatment as a minority skier. Who writes this crap? Oh some one from KENTUCKY. Oh wait, didn't the white folks take over the Native's land? Thats right. Happy Thanksgiving.

 

[Albertan ski girl]

I guess I don't see too much that is controversial in the article. For a long time, national parks were off-limits to non-whites, and nowadays there are a lot of financial barriers to enjoying the outdoors - for those who don't live near them, there is the cost of travel, accommodation, food etc. I think she's saying that it is a problem linked to both race and class.

Maybe I'm not lucky enough to live in a place where the outdoors is a happy multicultural space - I rarely see minorities on the slopes in Banff and LL, even though Calgary is almost half minorities, population-wise. I've had many of my students tell me they've never been out to the mountains here even though they are an hour away - their families often don't have cars, they don't want to spend the money for a bus ticket, and then there's the hotels etc.

I also don't think she is advocating for 'special treatment' for minorities at all. She writes that outdoor industry is often complicit in the exclusion of minorities because almost all of their marketing is geared towards white people and features only white people. Sometimes all it takes is a few role models in the public eye to make other feel like they can participate in an activity. As she writes: "There are no obvious heroes or villains to this problem."

Maybe I misunderstood, but it all seems quite reasonable to me.

Carolyn Finney isn't from Kentucky. She works at the university there - she's from California, and she's a woman of colour. She's also on the National Parks Advisory Board. And she didn't write the article.

 

[ski diva]

I agree: there are far too few minorities involved in activities like skiing and boarding. In fact, I've been to snow industry presentations in which attracting more minorities has been deemed essential in "growing the sport." Unfortunately, I don't see much movement in that department. As someone who used to be in advertising, I often found that companies were more willing to sell to an audience they already understood and had had success with before, and I chalk some of this up to that. But you're right, @Albertan ski girl . It's unfortunate and something that needs to change.

 

[pinto]

"In the Outdoor Foundation’s annual Outdoor Recreation Participation Topline Report 2016, the Youth and Young Adult Participant Demographics reflected that the outdoors is indeed overwhelmingly white: 71% to be exact. 8% were African American/Black, 7% were Asian/Pacific Islander, 12% were Hispanic, and 2% were labeled as other. One look around at all the people participating in the outdoor scene begs the question, “Why are the outdoors so…white?”

Ok, cool. Let's compare that to US demographics:

61% non-hispanic white
18% hispanic
12% black
6% asian/pacific islander
https://kff.org/other/state-indicator/distribution-by-raceethnicity/?currentTimeframe=0

So, yes, outdoor participation is overwhelmingly white. As is the racial makeup of the US. And yes, even more so the Instagrammed outdoorsy #### -- but that's not only "white," but "20-something" "hipster" "skinny" "pensive" and a bunch of other stuff none of us is. Sort of like fashion magazines. But they don't stop people from ... wearing clothes.

That said, I am all for outreach programs and personally support several like Chris Anthony's, the Doug Coombs Foundation, SOS, but I don't think it helps to yell that the sky is falling when ... well, it isn't, exactly. Unequal access? WTF? People are being prohibited from going outside?

Skiing is a different thing than "outdoor participation," as there are economic and travel barriers there that don't exist for, say, hiking. But damn someone has never been to Vail in spring if they think Hispanics don't ski.... and no, those aren't Americans, but the percentage of Hispanics in CO who ski has definitely been rising, as more and more families have settled especially in the mountains. The vast majority of Hispanics in the US live in CA, TX, and FL, so ... CA has skiing, but it's a big state. It's not like the CO folks who live within an hour of skiing. Obviously more needs to be done, but all it takes is a couple generations of access.

 

[RachelV]

...I don't think it helps to yell that the sky is falling when ... well, it isn't, exactly. Unequal access? WTF? People are being prohibited from going outside?...

Of course not, but it's hard to imagine yourself doing something when you neverrrrrrr see someone who looks like you doing it. It's the same feeling I had when I showed up to college orientation 15 years ago and the room with the computer science majors was literally about 300 men and 3 women - "oh dear, maybe this isn't for people like me?" Logically, you know it's not true, but it'd still be nice to see the outdoor industry feature minorities in marketing once in a while. It's such an easy thing to do and it really does make a difference.

 

[bounceswoosh]

You can want to change something even if no one in particular is enforcing the status quo.

I would personally enjoy seeing more racial minorities when I'm skiing at Breck. It's a white, white, white, white place. Disconcertingly so.

 

[pinto]

For sure ... it's easy enough to do, I guess, but I think far more people get started doing this stuff because they are exposed through family and friends; spending the money on school and community programs is the most bang for the buck. The only person I know who started skiing solely because of an ad is @SkiNurse, lol.

I just ... I look at those numbers, and they aren't telling the same story as the article. African Americans are 12% of the overall population, and 8% of the outdoor participant population. Um. Ok. It would be cool if it were equal, but is that really a crisis?

And yeah ... skiing, as I said, that's a whole nuther story. It really shouldn't be conflated with hiking or camping, imo, but that's what we focus on.

 

[bounceswoosh]

Yeah, I guess the way to adjust to demographics in skiing is to first adjust income/wealth inequalities across the races in the US. Not really skiing specific.

You're right that people are exposed to activities through their friends and family. Absolutely.

I was just thinking, if we want national parks and national forest to be preserved, we want as many people as possible to benefit from them so that they might vote to keep them protected - lots of partisan assumptions there, but if I'm thinking like that, it's enlightened self-interest to want more people of all types to be out in the wilderness.

The thing is, @pinto , I am having trouble buying the numbers. They look pretty cut and dry, but there are tons of jokes by black comedians talking about how they think white people are crazy for camping. Enough so that I think there's something suspicious about those numbers.

https://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2009/08/14/128-camping/

 

[geargrrl]

Check out the "minority report" editions of Roam Rydes podcast. She interviews women of color in the mountain biking world, you can get perspective right from the gals out there doing it.

It was the Homestead Act of 1862 that allowed European immigrants to rush out West, grab land, and secure a home for five years. However, in their “adventurous spirit,” Europeans pushed the First Nations people out, and exploited black people. Black, free men were by and large restricted from Homestead Grants, necessitating a sharecropper livelihood.

This is flat out wrong. There were no race limitations to the Homestead act. I won't quote sources. It's easy enough to google "could black people homestead" to get dozen solid citations.

I really dislike the tone of this article, but it makes some good points. However, not enough good points imo. There's a lot more that could be said about culture being against outdoors activity. Best to listen to the podcasts I cited where actual women of color talk about their experience, instead of yet another white personal analyzing what's wrong.

 

[pinto]

Yeah, I guess the way to adjust to demographics in skiing is to first adjust income/wealth inequalities across the races in the US. Not really skiing specific.

You're right that people are exposed to activities through their friends and family. Absolutely.

I was just thinking, if we want national parks and national forest to be preserved, we want as many people as possible to benefit from them so that they might vote to keep them protected - lots of partisan assumptions there, but if I'm thinking like that, it's enlightened self-interest to want more people of all types to be out in the wilderness.

The thing is, @pinto , I am having trouble buying the numbers. They look pretty cut and dry, but there are tons of jokes by black comedians talking about how they think white people are crazy for camping. Enough so that I think there's something suspicious about those numbers.

https://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2009/08/14/128-camping/

I love that link.

I agree, I think those numbers probably include things like "taking a walk outside" or other innocuous types of activity. I don't think 8% of campers or mountain bikers are African American, no. But when you lead off an article and base your conclusions on such numbers ... it sorta makes everything else suspect, too. Like, you're just shooting from the hip. But -- if you are trying to increase participation, then you have to have some kind of baseline, or everything is just anecdotal.

I have spent a lot more time in and around Carbondale, lately, for example, which is something like 40% Hispanic, and I definitely see a lot more out hiking and even camping than in other parts of the state. Not so much on $6000 mtn bikes or skiing on $1000 passes, no. So much is financial, so much is cultural, and so much is both. I guess I just see it working a lot better if it comes from within that community, not from some ivory-towered guilty white person thinking that that a more diverse IG account is the answer. Putting an ironic mustache and flannel on a black dude isn't going to work.

 

[geargrrl]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNPuFREDmgP/

 

[ski diva]

Here's an interesting article from 2015 the explores the dearth of African-Americans in snow sports.

 

[pinto]

Here's an interesting article from 2015 the explores the dearth of African-Americans in snow sports.

Make sure to read the comments section, too.

Sounds like things are improving, which is cool. Up to 10% snowboarders are A-A, which out of 12% population is pretty good. Those programs are working.

 

[Christy]

There is a lot to be said on the issue for sure. It's been a huge focus of the NPS the past few years and will be going forward. The average NP user is something like 58 and white. If we don't expand our constituency asap we will have no support in the future. There's a lot of things we just don't think about. 2 that have stuck with me: An African-American colleague told us how when he was growing up in the south in the 50s and 60s they were taught never to go exploring in the woods. That was where scary racist violent redneck stuff happened. It was dangerous for African-Americans to go out in those natural places. And so his generation didn't, and then when they grew up and had kids they didn't know anything about outdoor rec so they never took their kids out. The idea of going to a national forest in WA, say, still seems really threatening based on their experiences growing up. They don't know if it's safe. (And quite frankly, I'm not sure 100% of the time it is. There has been a rise in the amount of neo-Nazi activity in national forests in the PNW). Also if you never see an African American ranger (and there are very few), how welcoming is that?

The other thing is picnic areas in national parks/forests/etc. Picnic tables seat 6 people. They were designed for the American white nuclear family. That's not how other ethnic groups roll. The Mexican families in CA's Central Valley--the folks living closed to Yosemite and Sequoia--would try to come and picnic and picnic areas simply could not accommodate their large multi-generational groups. The would try to rearrange the picnic tables and the rangers would stop them. It made them think, okay, these areas aren't for us, they don't want us here. So Yosemite and Sequoia redesigned the picnic areas to accommodate large groups. It made all the difference.

There are a countless things like that.

 

[bounceswoosh]

I've reached out to a friend who works for Big City Mountaineers. Mission statement: "The mission of Big City Mountaineers is to instill critical life skills in under resourced urban youth through transformative wilderness mentoring experiences." No mention of minorities, and based in Golden, CO - I've asked her what percentage of the kids are minorities, and how much that comes up in their planning.

@pinto - I wish that blog were still active. It's hilarious. And ... not wrong.

It's hard to know how to help as someone who's not in the racial minority. I've paid attention enough to know that not everybody has the same idea of what would help. When I see a black person on the slopes, I want to do *something* to indicate support, but at the same time realize that it would be creepy and inappropriate to go up and try to shake their hands or say, "I'm so glad to see people of color on the slopes!"

Perhaps donating or participating in organizations like my friend's is the best way to get underprivileged people of all races out there.

I've heard similar points to what @Christy mentioned. It's riskier to go to new places when those places aren't clearly "for you." There's a recent series on the Sporkful podcast about how restaurants signal to their desired clientele, and how white people and PoC might interpret the same treatment differently (note: might). The points in the article @ski diva linked are great. I can also just imagine how my father, who grew up poor, would respond to me wanting to ski bum for a few years, even though I grew up in the comfortable middle class. It was not something I ever considered. And the family angle - it's much more minor and a little different, but when I thought about taking a year off to wander around abroad, I decided not to because 1) it would discontinue my (very tiny) scholarship and 2) my parents were waiting to retire until I finished school. Somehow it never occurred to me to take the time off after school. I got an internship before the last semester, then straight into that job (after what felt like a scandalous two weeks straight of skiing).

Anyway, comparisons to my own personal experience are tricky and misleading, but I can well understand how a black person might not be excited to go deep into the wilderness when all the people around them will likely be white strangers. It reminds me of the scene in Wild where Cheryl encounters a couple of men who are more than a little frightening. That's always in the back of my mind. The other day I was just getting gas at night and there were two late-teen boys getting fuel across the pump from me. They were white. I was hyper aware of them, you know, just because there's always that chance. I don't know how much of that is being female, or how much of that is from spending my teen years with the martial arts crowd. Although it would take a lot for me to feel suspicious of two women in the same way. If I didn't have my dogs, solo hiking would be a lot scarier. Less "communing with nature" and more "eyes and ears wide open." I doubt my tall, large, white, male spouse has ever had a similar apprehension.

 

[SallyCat]

This is flat out wrong. There were no race limitations to the Homestead act. I won't quote sources. It's easy enough to google "could black people homestead" to get dozen solid citations.

@geargrrl There were no specific race limitations, but I believe citizenship was an essential qualifying criteria for a grant. That would have excluded blacks until 1868. There were certainly black homesteaders, but I also wouldn't argue with the point that the salient experience of most African-Americans in the nineteenth century was of exploitation.

@pinto To your point about economic and travel barriers, they absolutely exist for hiking. @Christy made the point beautifully, and I will add only that even if you're highly motivated to go for a hike despite a dearth of information or role models, getting from an urban area to the woods without a vehicle is hard.

I work occasionally with the Philly chapter of Inner City Outings, a Sierra Club program that provides economically disadvantaged kids from Philly and Camden with outdoor opportunities. It's a joy to be outdoors with kids who never, ever thought they would enjoy walking through the woods, or that they'd feel confident as trip leaders and mentors to new participants. I'm scheming to start something similar in my own town. I encourage anyone with the time and inclination to get involved with similar programs in your area.

 

[Pequenita]

Beyond access, I think the issue is also of inclusivity and feeling welcomed once in the outdoors. Joy Trip Project discussed the "adventure gap" last year:

https://joytripproject.com/2015/exploring-diversity-in-the-cradle-of-conservation/

 

[vanhoskier]

In @ski diva 's article, this paragraph stood out for me:

Europeans, Australians and New Zealanders go do that [travel] no matter what color, race or creed. So, it’s not race, it’s not color, it’s a uniquely African American situation,” Marvin iterated. “I meet African people from Africa, and they are told to get out of Africa and travel. The average person in Europe gets their passport when they’re eight to ten years old—here, the average American doesn’t even have a passport.”

There is definitely a difference in African American experience, due to their history in this country (as noted in posts above) and familial culture.

I teach in a pretty diverse, large, high school. As far as sports go, it's interesting to see the ethnic divide in chosen sports: football is pretty diverse, but soccer is not. Black students who play on our soccer team are African immigrants from Ethiopia, Kenja, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia. And interestingly, these same students, in looking for colleges, are casting their nets far and wide, whereas their African American friends choose colleges closer to home to stay near family. It is certainly, in my experience, true to say that my African immigrant students are not afraid to go different places and experience all they can.

Similarly, the travel experience of a lot of my friends is regional, not international. And what international travel is taken is to all-inclusive resorts where there is little to no contact with the locals. This kind of travel does not build international/multicultural awareness.

Christy's comments about the picnic tables at National Parks reminds me of what I see here in PA, in the camping areas of our state parks. In recent years, there has been a huge increase in Latino campers, which I think is great. It's awesome to see families spending weekends in the woods. These families set up campsites with circles of tents close to each other, which huge family cookouts, complete with music and dancing. It's a whole different experience. Here in rural PA, the population is mostly white, and I'm sorry to say, somewhat suspicious of anyone who doesn't look like them. So there is sometimes a shunning of the Latinos out enjoying nature in their own way. But I'm heartened that this population has discovered our state parks.

This past summer, while paddling on a lake in a state park, a group of about 20 Muslim women and children were sitting on one of the docks, enjoying the lake. They were conservative, most wearing niqab. It was an unusual sight to see in northeastern PA, but it heartening for me (my high school has a fairly large Muslim population). I went over and talked to them; they were from Queens (about 100 miles to the west) out for a day at the lake. The other people at the park kept their distance, sadly. If they had only gone over and talked to them, they would've found that these womens are Americans, like them, who just wanted to enjoy being outside.

 

[vanhoskier]

*Correction* = Queens is 100 miles to the EAST, not WEST, of here!!!