Safe access to outdoor spaces is a privilege not equally afforded under the constructs of systemic racism. In order to create equity in the outdoors, we need to actively dismantle the systems that unjustly jeopardize the safety of BIPOC and other marginalized groups, particularly Black folx. This is an effort that requires everyone. Outward Bound is committed to that effort.
One of the keys to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion work is doing our own work. We cannot push the burden of education onto those who are suffering from injustice. That’s why listening, reading, and engaging within your organization and peer group is so important. Here are some of the things our staff are reading and watching this week (scroll down for previous weeks):
Today, August 28, 2020, we turn our attention to the March on Washington. Today marks the 57th anniversary of the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom at the Lincoln Memorial. Learn more and tune in here.
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From August 21, 2020
This article in which Nadia Mercado interviews Sarah Shimazaki about her podcast, Outside Voices. (And also, the Outside Voices Podcast — so awesome.)
This article by Leah Thomas about intersectional environmentalism
Following @terraincognitamedia on Instagram
Cathy O’Neil’s book titled Weapons of Math Destruction
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From August 14, 2020
This article by Melinda Wenner Moyer about kids returning to school and the larger impact of learning pods on education inequality
Following Patricia Cameron, the executive director of Blackpackers, as she’s hiking the Colorado Trail
This article about women who are working to make the outdoors more accessible
Black Is King, a film by Beyoncé
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From August 7, 2020
This conversation between Barbara Fields and Ta-Nehisi Coates about the concept of racecraft and the persistent illusions of a post-racial America
Time: The Kalief Browder Story, a series created by Jenner Furst, Julia Willoughby Nason, and Nick Sandow tracing the tragic case of Kalief Browder, a Black Bronx teen who spent three horrific years in jail, despite not being convicted of a crime
Following @teresabaker11, @outdoorafro, and @rachel.cargle on Instagram
Richard Rothstein’s book titled The Color of Law
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From July 31, 2020
This article by Darryl Fears and Steven Mufson about the Sierra Club changing their tune about John Muir
This resource roundup from Katrina Michie for talking to kids about race
Following @intersectionalenvironmentalist and @she_colorsnature on Instagram
Robin DiAngelo’s book titled White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
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From July 24, 2020
This article by Darryl Fears and Steven Mufson about the Sierra Club’s efforts to face their white supremacist history
13th, a film directed by Ava DuVernay, examining the U.S. prison system and how the country’s history of racial inequality drives the high rate of incarceration in America
This article by Bryan Stevenson as his initial response to the George Floyd protests
Ta-Nehisi Coates’s book titled Between the World and Me
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From July 17, 2020
This TED Talk with Rachel Cargle about ancestral accountability
Following this list of Black women and nonbinary rock climbers on Instagram
This article from James Edward Mills on his personal history of race relations in the action sports industry and whether current activism will lead to lasting change
Michelle Alexander’s book titled The New Jim Crow
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From July 10, 2020
This article by Rachel Cargle about the pitfalls of liberal white women’s feminism
This website, designed for “white allies in training”
Bryan Stevenson’s book titled Just Mercy
Follow @melaninbasecamp and @browngirlsclimb on Instagram
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From July 3, 2020
This list of children’s books to support talking to our children about race, racism, and activism
This article by Ibram X. Kendi titled “Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?”
This closeup examination of Kadir Nelson’s recent The New Yorker cover art
This documentary titled “Songs of the Homeland: History of Tejano Music”
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From June 26, 2020
This article from Stephanie Long about becoming a stronger white ally
“Teach Us All”, a documentary exploring inequality in the American education system
This 14-part documentary series on the Scene on Radio podcast exploring the notion of whiteness
Carolyn Finney’s book titled Black Faces, White Spaces
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From June 19, 2020
This TED Talk by Bryan Stevenson about identity, America’s unexamined history, and the American justice system
This toolkit from America & MOORE, LLC for the 21-day Racial Equity Challenge
This website about Juneteenth
James Edward Mills’s book titled The Adventure Gap
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From June 12, 2020
This video from Josh Greenwood titled “The People of Climbing”
This webinar from the NeuroLeadership Institute on power, fairness, and inclusion
This article by Jamie Siebrase on how to talk to your kids about racism
Ijeoma Oluo’s book titled So You Want to Talk About Race
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From June 4, 2020
This 20-minute video from Trevor Noah
This article by Danielle Williams about how to be an ally in the outdoors
This video of Dr. Robin DiAngelo reading from and discussing her book White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
Ibram X. Kendi’s book titled How To Be An Antiracist
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