Leadership Series: Honoring Black History Month

Featured photo courtesy of Black Outside Inc. Instagram

Honoring Black History Month

As we honor February as Black History Month, we have an opportunity to reflect on its meaning for us as an organization. Loretta, our multi-talented grants manager, volunteered to write the following solidarity statement, with support and contributions from our leadership team. It helps to ground our work together to lift up and celebrate Black voices and experiences in the outdoors.

What does it mean to be outside?

Being outside and enjoying outside doesn’t look the same for everybody, and several events in 2020 proved to our society that simple outdoor activities like bird watching in a local park or exercising outdoors can lead to conflict and life-threatening situations for Black individuals.To fully honor the Black experience is to acknowledge racism and its relationship in all aspects of society, including and not limited to, the outdoor industry and outdoor experiences. Historic socio-economic inequalities and other forms of racial violence have contributed to the lack of Black representation in the outdoors.

… And to honor the Black experience also means acknowledging Black joy. When black individuals feel safe, welcomed, and empowered in the outdoors, the beauty of Black joy can be ignited.

Black Joy is a healing process. It’s the unique opportunity for one to authentically express their joyful and positive Black experiences, despite the ongoing and debilitating narratives and instances of oppression and injustice. It acknowledges the true pain of Black history, while bringing to light Black history facts that are monumental, awe-inspiring, and absolutely worth celebrating.

This month–and every month–at Outdoor Outreach, we want to continue to create these transformative spaces for our Black communities to overcome challenges and discover their strengths so they can heal, thrive, and experience joy in the outdoors. We are grateful for your ongoing commitment to making the outdoors a more inclusive and joyful place for all. Happy Black History Month! Thank you for celebrating with us. We’ve included some Black resources and links to Black creators if you’d like to take a deeper dive into celebrating this work.

Outdoor Outreach connects youth to the transformative power of the outdoors as a space to explore their world, cultivate belonging, and discover what they’re capable of.