The New Narrative
For a long time, the one story we heard about the outdoors always had a white male as the leading character. To be clear, the lack of diversity in the outdoors isn't an untrue story—Black and Brown people are significantly underrepresented as participants of outdoor recreation: white (72%), Hispanic (11%), Black (9%), Asian (6%), other (1%).*
But… this isn’t the only story.
Check out these inspiring headlines about people of color in the outdoors.
There are also numerous groups and social media influencers who are promoting the outdoors for people of color. To find a group or influencer near you,
check out this list of 101 BIPOC Outdoor Athletes, Adventurers & Artists.
*This data above was taken from the
2021 Outdoor Participation Trends Report
Click on the link to view the
2021 Outdoor Participation Trends Report,
commissioned by the Outdoor Foundation
Words from a few Color My Outdoors Champions
There are many adventures I am proud of, like solo sky diving and firewalking. But if you say I have to pick only one it would definitely be completing the Appalachian Trail, (AT). Only about 12,000 people had completed the AT by the time I did and, to my knowledge, only a handful of those were Black people.
~Bert Adams
hiker | camper | RV’er | all-around-adventurer
I hike for my ancestors. I give thanks to them for all they endured so I may walk this land. I hike for my parents who started the journey. I hike for my wife who at one time would never be caught on a trail, but has found solace there. And I hike for my son, my present and my future. I want him to know that he has just as much of right to the land as the next person. I want him to feel wild and free and to wander and imagine. I choose hiking so he's not afraid. We get lost in the woods sometimes and my son says, "as long as we have each other, we can find the way." I hike for the memories.
