Research on why blacks and other minorities don't visit national parks

Northstarmom · September 2, 2009, 11:46am

Someone asked about this on another thread about a week ago. Here’s a story with answers.

"Historically, African-Americans have shied away from the outdoors, said Nina Roberts, an associate professor at San Francisco State University who teaches courses on parks and recreation. Her research has shown that ethnic minorities are conspicuously absent in activities such as camping, hiking, skiing, cycling and rock climbing.

Part of it was based in poverty, Roberts said. A lack of money and transportation held minorities back from road trips and ski vacations.

Fewer socioeconomic barriers exist today, but Roberts said a cultural wall still prevents minority participation. A 400-year-old legacy of slavery was reinforced by the post-Civil War and Great Depression migration of African-Americans to urban areas. Jim Crow laws restricted their movements, while acts of violence were often perpetrated against blacks in remote wooded areas.

Blacks found safety in their own homes, behind locked doors. Asians and Latinos, too, live with a history of forced labor outside.

“They might avoid certain areas because of perceived discrimination,” Roberts said. “Outdoor spaces are not places of refuge for minority communities.”

[Aiming</a> to add more color under America’s blue skies - CNN.com](<a href=“http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/09/02/national.parks.minorities/index.html]Aiming”>Aiming to add more diversity under America's blue skies - CNN.com)

member · September 2, 2009, 11:48am

More white guilt.

Northstarmom · September 2, 2009, 11:51am

What does this have to do at all with white guilt?

Biggie_Smalls · September 2, 2009, 11:54am

White people feel bad about the “400-year-old legacy of slavery was reinforced by the post-Civil War and Great Depression migration of African-Americans to urban areas. Jim Crow laws restricted their movements, while acts of violence were often perpetrated against blacks in remote wooded areas.”

AKA are guilty. And why does everyone care if black people don’t want to go to national parks? Honestly, it really doesn’t matter.

katliamom · September 2, 2009, 12:00pm

I’ve known many highly urban white people for whom ‘national park’ was not the first thing to come to mind when thinking vacation. (Woody Allen, anyone?) I would imagine it’s similar for many African Americans as well.

Of course, I also like the red-neck-with-a-shotgun-and-confederate-flag idea we discussed in an earlier thread: that some of these wilderness areas can be alarmingly attractive to that type of person best avoided by minorities. It certainly fits with the theory cited in Northstarmom’s article that many black people prefer their own communities for safety reasons.

member: white people have a lot to feel guilty about and not just in regards to African Americans.

midwesterner · September 2, 2009, 12:17pm

How about examining vacation habits? How many minority families have jobs that allow multi-week vacation periods? And how many want to use their limited vacation time to visit distant family members instead of mountains? I would think these are some of the most compelling reasons that national parks are low on the list of destinations. It isn’t only US minorities - I was talking to someone with family in a remote part of Italy, and nearly all of her vacation time is spent there, to the extent that she has seen very little of the rest of Europe.
When you look at cost, accessibility, family ties and tradition, you get a better idea.

emeraldkity4 · September 2, 2009, 12:23pm

The only national parks I have been to are in my home state &
I grew up with tent camping as our family vacation. ( locally)

Vacations cost money & there are lots of things to spend money on.
At least I have been around my own area, I know people who never see anything of it unless they have relatives to show around.

BCEagle91 · September 2, 2009, 1:40pm

A lot of people do the outdoors thing in Maine. Guess what Maine’s population looks like.

There are requirements on opportunity, logistics and money.

razorsharp · September 2, 2009, 1:58pm

Has anyone noticed that musical tastes are sometimes different based on race? Is that the result of racial discrimination too? Maybe its just a matter of preference whether or not one goes to parks, etc.

zoosermom · September 2, 2009, 2:05pm

Me too. The destination of choice for my African American friends is generally the Caribbean. I can totally relate to that. Who’d want to camp when you can go to a resort?

07DAD · September 2, 2009, 2:15pm

Well–in North Texas I have AA friends who regularly participate in trail rides (they have their own horses). In fact, these friends used to be trail ride sponsors.

The city parks have ethnic minorities picnicing and barbequing all the time. Area lakes are well attended by all races for boating and fishing. The AA owner of the trainer gym I use is a big time lover of deep sea fishing.

One of the major National Parks in Texas is famous because of its AA horse soldiers.

LOL–that ought to be a T-shirt for my wife.

Mr_Payne · September 2, 2009, 2:37pm

The only proper answer is racism.

Why do illegitimacy rates vary between different groups? Racism.
Why do criminality rates vary between different groups? Racism.
Why does academic performance vary between different groups? Racism.

Pretty much every single difference between every person on the globe can be answered by the amount of racism that person has experienced.

pugmadkate · September 2, 2009, 2:47pm

NSM, Thanks for posting that, it’s interesting to read. It’s also interesting, although not surprising, to see the usual suspects show up, not read the article and then be offended by it. Oy vey.

I had not put two and two together but I well remember the first time we went camping/rock climbing in Georgia. I’m white but still felt uncomfortable with the sheer amount of rebel flags on trucks/gear and we left early the next morning.

Naturally · September 2, 2009, 3:17pm

What’s so objectionable about an article examining why such a low percentage of national park visitors are black? What’s so radical about the notion that the cultural experience of black Americans tends to make them shy away (or maybe not even consider) going to Yellowstone or Glacier National Park? What other explanation could there be–are we supposed to believe that black Americans have a “hate the outdoors” gene? Yeah, that definitely makes more sense than suggesting that the collective experience of black America has made them wary or uninclined towards the outdoors.

I do think the National Park Service should encourage and market towards black Americans. Sure, there will be black people who would rather visit a resort than visit Old Faithful; there are plenty of white people who feel that way too. But there are also black Americans who would enjoy camping, hiking, seeing an elk or a buffalo herd, gazing up at towering rock formations.

member · September 2, 2009, 3:42pm

Blacks take up about 10-15% of the population. Whites take up around 70%. Though the majority of poor people in this country are white. The majority of people who take advantage of Food Stamps, Welfare, and other poverty based social programs are also white.

Is it so hard to think possibly that a larger percent of white people are actually worse off than the blacks whites love to sympathize for. I mean we still have people in this country without running water and toilets, though poor blacks have it bad in inner cities. When have you ever seen a person living in a inner city not have a toilet or running water?

While this article is old, I still feel it holds weight as population distribution numbers haven’t shifted all to much. [Welfare:</a> A White Secret - TIME](<a href=“http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,974473,00.html]Welfare:”>http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,974473,00.html)

Of the data in the article, of the 300 or so in our country 2,000,000 are on welfare million people 216 million are white and 45 million are black. Now of those populations 1,220,000 whites are on welfare and 660,000 blacks are on welfare.

So we have 1,220,000 Whites Vs 660,000 Million Blacks on Welfare.

Northstarmom · September 2, 2009, 3:48pm

This is why national park supporters should care about the races and ethnicity of people who visit those parks:

"By midcentury, minorities are expected to become the majority in this country, but 5.5 percent of the current park system staffing is Hispanic, while 9 percent is black and 1.8 percent is Asian, according to the National Park Service. About 80 percent of the park service work force is white.

In a report issued in May, the park service acknowledged it needs to make diversity in both its work force and its visitors a priority.

“Although the nation’s demographics have been changing for years – Hispanics now outnumber African-Americans and together these two populations are nearly equal to non-Hispanic whites – the majority of American visitors to our national parks continue to be primarily white,” the report says.

“The national parks most ardent supporters are visitors, and if visitation is not representative of the racial, ethnic, and generational diversity of America, crucial support could be lacking in the future.”

mam1959 · September 2, 2009, 4:00pm

katlia - what a total crock. White people have a lot to feel guilty for? Really. My own family from Northern Ireland came from generations of poverty , certainly never owned slaves, not only died in number for the Union in the Civil War but some also worked for the emancipation cause, and at least regards as my living relatives, are about as non-racist of people as you can find. Really, should I be imposing guilt on the English now? Remember, they literally let millions intentionally starve in Ireland the 1840’s. Or should I go out of my way to demonize people in this country with any connection to Sudan, a country (legitimized by state policy) which still enslaves its black citizens. Should I be on the look out for those from Mauritania? Mali? Same issues there. What is with all of this racial tribalism? Its 2009. People by and large are individuals with all sorts of skill and attributes and ought to be treated that way. Guilt? That should apply to those who fail to treat others contrary to how they want to be treated - and that means in the present.

I don’t mean to imply that racism no longer exists - but racism is a human condition - blacks, whites, Asians and so on can unfortunately be racist. The idea is to be principled and work to a higher ideal.

And your line of inquiry is really disturbing. Are blacks in general supposed to feel guilty because of the violent crimes blacks commit are so disproportional to their number, and whites are victims in a much greater proportion? I wouldn’t lay this on black people, the vast majority of whom are hard working and responsible. So why insist on laying it on whites in general in 2009? Again, this is not to deny history, but progress in substantive form is not going to be made by appealing to guilt - it is yet another form of manipulation.

And oh, by the way, I see nothing wrong with inquiring why blacks don’t go to national parks in greater number. They generally are a great experience, and it seems a reasonable marketing exercise for the parks. Common sense should always prevail.

AnudduhMom · September 2, 2009, 4:23pm

Well, the OP stated a theory proposed by “an associate professor at San Francisco State”. It is a theory, like any other theory.

Anyone can say anything and call it a “theory”. It doesn’t make it true.

Tell you what I think, from the point of view of an American who treasures experiences of visiting the national parks: it has nothing to do with race, it has everything to do with upbringing.

This is a purely personal perspective (subject to disagreement), but if you were raised watching National Geographic specials, you were in Girl or Boy Scouts, your parents or an esteemed adult took you out in the great outdoors, adults around you spoke with reverence and love of the beauties of this country, you will more likely want to try “roughing it”, camping, hiking and generally feeling uncomfortable for the adventure.

It is so easy to blame “them”, the ever-guilty “not us” for failings or lack in your life. If you feel a lack in your life – for nature, that your kids never saw a bald eagle flying, are you always going to blame someone else? Whose fault is it really?

Turn off the TV (and computer) and go outside. Plant something. Learn about wildlife in your area, and there is wildlife everywhere. I don’t care what color you are, the great outdoors are for everyone.

pugmadkate · September 5, 2009, 12:29am

I highly recommend a basic Sociology class. The distance between “ought to” and the reality is still a very, very wide gap.

The majority of white people simply have no idea, they just assume because in their opinion the gap is quite small, then it must be so. It’s not so easy to cling to that position when you start in on the mountains of research on the topic.

AnudduhMom, None of us grow up in a vacuum where on the people we know influence our behavior. For example, when your class trips consist of only seeing white faces represented in the employees at parks, it’s that much harder for a child who is not white to envision themselves fitting in there.

Where is your data to back that? As someone who was raised as you described yet now thinks of nature as the place where the good spas are, I question the validity of your theory.

Northstarmom · September 5, 2009, 9:29am

"This is a purely personal perspective (subject to disagreement), but if you were raised watching National Geographic specials, you were in Girl or Boy Scouts, your parents or an esteemed adult took you out in the great outdoors, adults around you spoke with reverence and love of the beauties of this country, you will more likely want to try “roughing it”, camping, hiking and generally feeling uncomfortable for the adventure.

It is so easy to blame “them”, the ever-guilty “not us” for failings or lack in your life. If you feel a lack in your life – for nature, that your kids never saw a bald eagle flying, are you always going to blame someone else? Whose fault is it really?"

I find it interesting that the article seemed to have pushed white guilt buttons in at least 2 posters. That wasn’t the point of the article at all – to make white people feel blamed and guilty.

Pointing out the historical reasons why black people and other racial minorities in this country may not visit national parks are simply facts, not some kind of underhanded way of trying to make white people feel bad about themselves.

I wouldn’t be surprised if, for instance, Japanese-Americans are another group that’s not in general traipsing around national parks. The parks may bring back memories of internment camps that our country put them in during WWII. They may have an aversion to places like national parks and not even realize that it’s rooted in history. That doesn’t make me feel guilty. It’s just a fact. It’s not all about me.

“but if you were raised watching National Geographic specials, you were in Girl or Boy Scouts, your parents or an esteemed adult took you out in the great outdoors, adults around you spoke with reverence and love of the beauties of this country, you will more likely want to try “roughing it”, camping, hiking and generally feeling uncomfortable for the adventure.”

An esteemed adult wasn’t likely to take you out into the great outdoors if the esteemed adult had next to no vacation due to the kind of jobs the adult was able to get or the esteemed adult used their fairly meager vacation to visit family. The esteemed adult also wasn’t likely to take you out into the great outdoors if they had very realistic concerns about being attacked by racists while traveling to those national parks, which in general are in the middle of nowhere. During the lives of some of us who are posting here, and certainly during the lives of our grandparents, there were towns in this country that had signs telling blacks not to enter or to be out of the town by sundown.

In addition, blacks (and other racial groups) have become increasingly urbanized. Some just don’t travel that much to any place. When I lived in Detroit, I met, for instance, a black woman who loved reading National Geographic and travel literature, but had never been more than a 45 minute drive away from Detroit. She hadn’t even made it to Canada, which was 10 minutes from downtown. I met young people-- high school students – who had never been outside of Detroit. I think that this was a class issue. There are lots of poor people in that area, and I’d bet that poor whites in Detroit would be as unlikely to travel – including to rural national parks – as is the case with poor blacks there.

After looking at the National Park Service site, I also realize that many of the locations under the National Park Service are urban. Lafayette Park, which is across the street fro the White House is one example. That was my favorite place to visit when I would visit my grandparents as a child. My grandparents would take me to feed the pigeons there.

Great Falls, Virginia and Maryland, the grassy mall where the Washington Monument is, Niagara Falls – all are areas under the National Park Service. I’ve seen plenty of black people at those places.

Maybe African Americans just prefer parks that are in or near urban areas, and perhaps African Americans idea of a place to overnight is in their own beds, relatives’ beds or in a hotel that’s in a relatively urban area like Niagara Falls.

Maybe, too, black people’s ancestors are more likely to have been sharecroppers or slaves, and consequently don’t view camping in the wild as something that sounds like fun, but instead view it as the kind of experience that their ancestors fled in order to obtain a better life in a city.

Research on why blacks and other minorities don't visit national parks

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