Feature Article: Minorities and Outdoor Pursuits

I am black, and in the kayaking world I’m an anomaly. In most outdoor pursuits, I am a complete rarity. 


Brad and Kurt were in their kayaks, but still on the riverbank. I was in the water kayaking. We all looked tired, 13 hours of driving from Chicago to Pine Bluff, Arkansas to kayak the Big Piney River. We are at the put-in, several others kayakers were in various stages of getting ready to paddle, but they were strangers. They had Arkansas license plates on the trucks.

Stares and glances went back forth between the various kayakers.

There is always a period of time which people exchanged looks, check out each other’s boats, basically we are sizing each other up. I have been kayaking for eight years when Brad, Kurt and I decided to have a kayaking road trip. At this point in my kayaking career, I have gotten use to silent vetting process that all kayakers go through each time you show up in a new location.

This time it was different, we were in the South, I had never kayaked in the South. I had deliberately stayed away, even though the region is a Mecca for whitewater kayakers. The question I always asked myself was, how would I be received by Southern kayakers? I am black, and in the kayaking world I’m an anomaly. In most outdoor pursuits I was a complete rarity.

National Parks and Minority Participation

The Census Bureau projects that by 2050, the racial and ethnic minorities will compose about half of the country’s population. Racial and ethnic minorities have traditionally been under-represented as visitors to national parks. An example, a recent survey of a representative sample of Americans found that 32 percent of whites had visited a national park in the last two years compared to only 13 percent of blacks.

Various studies have been conducted to explore the potential reasons of under-representation of racial-ethnic minorities in national parks as well as determine barriers to racial-ethnic minority under-representation. Most of the research returned results that range from Cultural Bias, Access issues, Socio-economic factors, the lack of minority role models to Institutional Discrimination.

In his book Black & Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places by Dudley Edmondson showcases a group of African-Americans who enjoy the outdoors. All have various educational backgrounds, come from different regions in the U.S., but have a love of nature. All have worked hard to dispel stereotypes on both sides of the color line.

Asked why there are not more minorities involved in outdoor pursuits, Edmondson said, “born and raised in urban settings, the outdoors is completely foreign to many.”

Luis Rivas Ph.D., an English Professor at Metropolitan State College of Denver and avid climber, said he was hooked after participating in a church-group climbing outing as a teen.  He grew up, got married and had kids. Rivas is still involved in the outdoors and is passing on his love to his three kids. “My kids are motivated, after church they’ll see the mountains and ask if we can go for a hike,” said Rivas.

My Path to the Outdoors

I grew up in suburban-middle class Columbus, Ohio. Summers were spent with my grandparents, a couple of weeks with each pair. My mother’s father would take me fishing. I found it boring, but grandfather loved taking me. My dad’s parents would take us to their place in Canada. Lake Chemung in Ontario was peaceful, forested and great fun for a kid.

We climbed trees, swam in the lake, and cooked s'mores and franks in the fire. It was a great introduction to a different world, but I was enthralled by water. Not swimming in it, but gliding on it with a boat. I wanted to hold a paddle in my hand. My parents would take us, and occasionally allow us to paddle. Chaos would ensue.

Then I saw a man in a very long boat. The man was bearded, wiry, and zooming along on the lake. He was in a kayak.

I have always found kayakers to be of a fun and open-minded ilk. I was drawn in, and I wanted this lifestyle. I made friends wherever I kayaked. I learned to paddle in Columbus, Ohio. A college friend of mine started dating C-1 paddler, to you that is a closed canoe. It’s very similar to a kayak but the paddler’s sitting position is different. They are on their knees, and not sitting on their butt. Another difference is the paddle is a single-blade paddle. Kayakers have a two-bladed paddle.

I was always fascinated by kayaking but had never tried it. So I asked him to show me the basics.  After my first lesson I was hooked. I traveled all over, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, California, and Colorado to kayak.

Everywhere I went I was the only person of color. Stares and whispers followed me down the river. I knew I had to kayak well and demonstrate that I was a kayaker first, and that being black was not a hindrance. I trained all the time.

After college I moved to San Diego, Cali., and joined the local kayaking club, The San Diego Kayak Club. There I was introduced to a variety of paddle and water sports: kayak polo, surf kayaking, sea-kayaking, and board surfing.

The club provided an instant group of friends. Color wasn’t an issue all that mattered was kayaks, whitewater and beer. We were maniacs for all three.

Cultural Bias and Discrimination

In a report, Minority Participation in Outdoor Recreation, written by Erik Ichida, he argues that the same values that attract White people to outdoor recreation activities do not hold the same appeal for minorities. White people view parks as places for refuge and escape from the stress of urban life. On the other hand, African-Americans and Native-Americans do not show the same enthusiasm for parks and wilderness because such places serve as reminders of their subjugation and oppression.

Certain leisure activities and sites might be viewed as unacceptable because they do not reinforce a racial/ethnic group’s collective identity. Similarly, some researchers have argued that leisure could play an integral role in maintaining sub-cultural identity in a multi-cultural society.

Since decisions about leisure activities are made without the constraints and pressures to conform that are found in work, school, and other environments, it is possible that ethnic differences will be more strongly reflected in the decisions concerning such activities.

The decision to not participate in the majority cultures leisure activities could be more than not wanting to assimilate, it could be that the minority culture does feel welcomed. The feeling of being discriminated against is very common but anecdotal in the African-American community. I have found if it is just I with a group of whites that the situation is good, but when there has multiple African-Americans then there is tension.  I have been told of African-Americans families showing up at campgrounds and the white family that they are next to pack up and leave.

Another reason minorities may not feel welcomed is that how they view the facilities to accommodate them.

A study by Dwyer and Hutchinson discovered that African-Americans tended to prefer developed facilities and conveniences more than Whites. Their surveys indicated that 53% of African-Americans showed a strong preference for developed facilities, as opposed to 24% of Whites. Conversely, 57% of Whites showed a strong preference for preserved natural areas, compared to only 27% of African-Americans.

In 1990, Irwin, Gartner, and Phelps conducted a study comparing differences in environmental preferences between Whites and Hispanics. The study, preformed at a New Mexico campground, found that both Whites and Hispanics preferred minimally developed campgrounds. There is a different interpretation of development.

Those surveyed were asked to list their priorities in facilities and design when choosing a campground. White people listed quiet surroundings (24%), privacy (14%), water (14%), and space between campsites (13%) as their major priorities. On the other hand, Hispanics listed toilets (39%), camping space at each site (25%), water (14%), and fire rings (8%). Furthermore, Whites tended to prefer being far away from other campers more than Hispanics (67% vs. 28% respectively).

As these studies show, there are strong and distinct preferences between Whites and minorities. Overall, Whites prefer to travel far to participate in outdoor pursuits and tend to want more primitive surroundings. They want to individuals and seek activities that encourage independence.

This is counter to what minorities are looking for in their outdoor pursuits. They are more likely to have picnics, BBQs or some sort of organized sport. Minorities prefer easy access to modern comforts. My cousin, who lives in Akron, Ohio, said, “Why would I want to sleep in the ground?” She has a master’s in English from Ohio State University. “I’ve worked too hard to sleep on dirt.”

The Encounter

Kurt, Brad and I were eight miles into a 12-mile river run. It was mellow kayaking, very serene and the water wasn’t that big. In the background there was noise, it sounded like a motorcycle. It was not welcomed by any of us. The whole point of kayaking is to get away from machines and artificial noise

We kept on kayaking, but the noise got louder and then stayed with us. It stayed parallel to our position for the remainder of the paddle. As we rounded the bend, the river gets shallow and a dirt road crosses the river. The engine noise grew louder and instead of one engine rumbling, it multiplied to four.

There were four All-terrain vehicles were idling, with each having a very large white men sitting on it. They were in camouflage uniforms. They were waiting for us to pass them. The obvious imagery is from the movie “Deliverance.” I was intent on not squealing like a pig.

I look at Kurt and Brad. We exchanged awkward looks, and we were very curious what was going to happen. The drivers had the same look of bewilderment, as they looked back and forth between each other and us.  The driver of one ATV reached into his pocket, and started to pull something out.

The cliché “fish is a barrel” echoed in my head. Three of us had no place to hide. His hand pulled out something and there was a flash. No bang, just a flash. He had taken my picture. I smiled, but internally I exhaled in relief. I can’t imagine why he would want a picture of me. It must be next to a picture of the world's biggest ball of twine.