The Red Oaks team is grappling with difficult questions: How can we create a more inclusive space? How can we serve a more diverse community? How can we address the barriers that make it difficult for many kids of color, especially Black kids, to reap the benefits of time in nature?
Let’s be clear: nature is for everyone. Let’s be honest: racism, both subtle and overt, erects obstacles between Black folks and safe enjoyment of the great outdoors. If we didn’t already know this, the story of Christian Cooper—the Black birder threatened by a White dog walker-- provides a poignant and all too common example.
Black birders face threats. I’m calling the cops. I’m going to tell them there’s an African-American man threatening my life. Black hikers face suspicion. What are you doing here? Black people receive little or no representation in outdoor gear catalogs and outdoor adventure magazines. With few exceptions, children’s literature about wilderness survival or adventures in the natural world features White characters. The barriers that stand between Black folks and the natural world are many.
There are physical barriers—justified concerns about physical safety that extend far beyond scraped knees.
There are social barriers—would you hike if you feared interrogation on the trail?
There are historical barriers—until the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Black Americans were banned from or segregated in national and state parks. Not very long ago in our history, forests were the preferred location for lynchings. In the painfully evocative words of Billie Holiday’s song, “Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze, Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.”
There are cultural barriers—would you hike if none of your friends or family did?
There are systemic barriers—a dearth of green space in predominantly Black neighborhoods and inadequate access to safe and convenient transportation for many inner-city families.
Is it any surprise that Black Americans participate in outdoor recreation at a significantly lower rate than their White counterparts? This is not benign. It is not a Germans eat sauerkraut and Americans eat coleslaw sort of thing. Time in nature offers tangible physical, social, psychological, and cognitive benefits—benefits that are inequitably distributed.
Due to COVID-19 and the resulting lockdowns, many of us have recently experienced limitations in our access to parks, hiking trails, swimming pools, playgrounds, and other favorite outdoor areas. These temporary barriers to the natural world offer us an opportunity for deeper empathy and awareness. They offer us a very small window (we’re talking peephole-sized) into the experiences of Black Americans, who encounter larger and more persistent barriers to accessing nature. Empathy, of course, is not enough. In Latria Graham’s words: “Spare me your empathy if it does not come coupled with institutional change.”
At Red Oaks, we are committed to change. We are committed to doing more to build an inclusive space and committed to serving a more diverse community. We acknowledge that we cannot be the leaders in addressing racial inequality. For one, our staff, board, and community are still overwhelmingly White. For another, organizations like Outdoor Afro and Diversify Outdoors are lightyears ahead of us in addressing these injustices (check out their amazing work!). We cannot be the leaders, but we can be learners. We can continue the work of educating ourselves. We can have difficult conversations, think outside of the (white) box, and explore new collaborations.
One endeavor that is already in the works is the extension of our Taking Flight class—a hands-on ornithology program for kids—to an underserved middle school, one-third of whose students are Black. Taking Flight combines rigorous STEM learning with the wonder of up-close wildlife encounters. We hope that it will also become an opportunity for us to learn alongside some of America’s up and coming Black birders!
We hope you will join us in our journey to learn more and do more. For now, we encourage you to read one, two, or all of these excellent articles:
- We’re Here, You Just Don’t See Us
- Being black while in nature: ‘You’re an endangered species’
- Black Birders Call Out Racism, Say Nature Should be for Everyone
- Outdoor Afro: Busting Stereotypes that Black People Don’t Hike or Camp
About the Author
Lisa Thomas is the nature-lovin' mama of three nature-lovin' boys. In her free time, you'll most likely find her reading, writing, running (it's more of a waddle, really), or rock climbing. Lisa is the President of the Board of Directors at Red Oaks.