A Rural Relationship
Thanks for sticking with us. Welcome to the third installment of our five-part series. We are headed down South- because the past is not always behind us. In this post, we will discuss historical elements that account for the current whiteness of recreation.
“Before the bulk primers came
and we primed all the leaves by hand,
stooped over at the waist for the
lower ones and through the season
gradually rising higher until we stood
and worked simultaneously,
as married to the fields as we were to each other”
Speaker, author and camp favorite Michael Brandwein says in his book, Super Staff, Super Vision , “inside safety means psychological, our emotional safety. It means protecting our children from damage to their feelings that is inflicted intentionally or even unknowingly by others.” Camps do the work to provide a level of emotional safety that is critical to campers and staff feeling comfortable and at ease - enabling them to be themselves. Please consider another element of safety, one that cannot be rectified with a lifeguard, a lock, or strategically placed cameras. There is a feeling of fear that is pervasive among Black/Brown Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) who take to rural landscapes. The hair- raising, looking over your shoulder type of fear that accompanies you constantly as a person of color when situated in the middle of the bucolic, white, ‘burgs, ‘villes and ‘dales of states like Pennsylvania, New York, and Maine.
I felt this fear as a camper when we would venture to Walmart in Pennsburg. I felt this fear as a counselor on my nights off in Honesdale. To allay some of these fears, myself and others had spoken agreements while away from camp itself: we would only dine at chain restaurants as they seemed safer than local establishments. And, on any outing there would be at least one other person of color. Always. The same underlying buddy system most commonly favored in aquatics is precisely the tactic we employed to ensure our safety in all-white towns, because we were others and the melanin in our skin made us stick out like a sore thumb.
But recreation in nature, and life amongst rural landscapes was not always white. From rituals that conferred respect, rites of passage that signified maturation and the earth serving the apothecary’s supply chain -- there was not always a disconnect between Black/Brown Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) and the outdoors. Actually, this idea is fairly modern in its origin and tends to coincide with the post-Colombian era, land tenure and the commodification of people in America.
A blog is a place for an author to personalize and illuminate concepts through the telling of their own story. There are historians, sociologists and geologists that have conducted extensive research on and written about the historical accounting for the lack of representation in camp spaces. I will be sharing three different yet symbiotic explanations in order of conception not import that provide historical and cultural context explaining the whiteness of recreation and will pair them with an account of my own.
How did we get here? Informed fear as a result of Slavery and lynchings. I do not intend to dilute the experience of my ancestors by presenting these words matter of factly, rather there is a (potentially misplaced) assumption being made here that people know the horrors of both of these systematic tools of oppression, subversion, and hate that were carried out in natural landscapes. The fear that I get when I see a lone tall tree against a backdrop of verdancy is one that has been passed down to me in the same manner as my hair color and colonizer’s surname. That fear, which for many generations of people of color has been inherited from one generation to the next through the potency of the parable, must be presented as we think about the whiteness of recreation as it exists currently.
How did we get here? Parks have their own police. There are law enforcement Park Rangers. There is the United States Park Police that is a function of the National Parks Service. Depending on your view of law enforcement and its correlation to public safety, individuals in uniform who are deputized with the power to arrest do not assuage fear; rather, they amplify it. As can be viewed here, in the South, the economics that drove the creation of police forces were centered on the preservation of the slavery system. From the outset and compounded by centuries of repeated instances of trauma and a disregard for Black and Brown bodies, the police do not always make people feel more at ease. With their own policing body, some parks do not always create a sense of welcoming for all.
How did we get here? Historical accounts bend in the direction of those wielding power. There are BIPOC explorers, pioneers, and navigators that have contributed immensely to outdoor recreation and exploration. York was a historically apt mononymous African-American who was an essential part of the Lewis and Clark expedition from 1804 to 1806. Between 1891- 1913, Buffalo Soldiers were instrumental in the creation and formation of national parks, notably, Yosemite. Matthew Henson, a Black man, reached the North Pole in 1909 and was the only member of his all-white Artic voyaging party to do so. These are just some of the people of color that have shaped our natural world - and they are almost unheard of in the present day. Lauded legends and those represented in all aspects of media and popular culture can inform your own belief and sense of possibility and belonging. If we don’t tell these historic tales, how are children of color supposed to see themselves in spaces that have intentionally excluded them?
Where should we go? My family owns a timeshare and my mother really loves to take full advantage of all of its offerings. This led us to a Virginia campground 5 hours away from our home in Maryland one weekend. Armed with her own affinity for camping and a bravada shared by few, my mom ensured us that we would have a good time. There is something about the reliance on the natural world for subsistence that brings about an austere reverence for nature. There is something mysterious and exciting about exploring nature that makes us feel connected. Time, when in nature, seems to be still - as life peacefully and instinctively goes with the flow. While away, my brother met a friend - a young white boy who floated over to our lodging in a canoe - who asked him if he wanted to toss around a football. My brother said yes, and so they did for hours. If you were to ask my brother to head back to a locale such as that in 2020 he would audibly protest. There is an innocence and beauty of childhood that allows us to explore friendships and enjoy experiences before the world has fully constructed and informed our sense of belonging and community. That is why our camps have to ensure outside safety. Our kids depend on it.
While camps cannot take responsibility for the towns that host their camps nor its inhabitants, they can do the right work to ensure campers and counselors feel supported and outside safe at all times in a couple of ways:
1. Hold local businesses accountable by bringing to their attention any instances of blatant (and micro) racial inequity at the establishment. Rethink which businesses you support and keep your camper and staff safety paramount.
2. Meet them where THEY are. Think about hosting day trips and programs in parks or outdoor spaces with perspective campers and their families. Comfort and acclimation to the outdoors can begin in our communities.
3. Start small. As the saying goes “you can’t give a bird the whole loaf of bread”. Introduce your space in bite size stays. Think about hosting weekend programs at your camp during the off-season to ramp up a longer summer stay/or season-long commitment.
We will talk more about how camps can build more inclusivity, and emotional and physical safety in our future posts. Until then, come get s’more content - follow us on Instagram @smoremelanin.
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Briana Michele Mitchell
Briana has been a camp attendee since the age of six and a previous camp counselor and Teach for America Corps Member. Most importantly, Briana is a lifelong chaser of that “camp feeling.” She is the Director of AF Camp, a Change Summer camp, where she works to create high-quality, summer opportunities for students that will increase their overall confidence, responsibility, curiosity, and independence.
Makela Elvy, M.Ed
Makela Elvy, M.Ed, is an environmental educator and camp enthusiast. Over the course of her career, Elvy has held camp positions ranging from head counselor to program manager. Her experience includes nature interpretation, curriculum development, and the creation of a 10-week venture program rooted in experiential learning.
Sources:
Brandwein, M. (2002). Super staff supervision: A how-to handbook of powerful techniques to lead camp staff to be their best: 6 paths. Lincolnshire, IL: Brandwein.
Coke, A. (n.d.). The Change by Allison Adelle Hedge Coke. Retrieved October 01, 2020, from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/55702/the-change-56d2378a68a47
Waxman, O. (2019, March 06). The History of Police in America and the First Force. Retrieved October 01, 2020, from https://time.com/4779112/police-history-origins/