Sign In:

×

Last Step!

Please enter your public display name and a secure password.

Plan to post in the forums? Change your default forum handle here!
×
 Check Out Our Shop
×

Racism Exists in The Outdoors. Start Listening.

Jun 02, 2020 By: Teton Gravity Research
0 0

Listening. That’s the first step of being an ally. Now more than ever it’s time to recognize the black experiences and stories that often are glossed over, forgotten, or go unheard. The outdoors is no perfect haven. When black members of our community are strangled in their sleep, shot while going for a jog, and called racial slurs at a race it’s painfully clear that our nation and community have major work to do. Step one is acknowledgment: Racism exists, and it's ugly. Don’t take it from us, but the many members of our community who have spoken up in light of what's happening around our nation.

Stand up for justice and for your fellow skiers, runners, bikers, snowboarders, surfers, alpinists, and whoever else loves spending time outside. That starts with hearing what they have to say.

The outdoors is for everyone.

Zahan Billimoria

View this post on Instagram

I have always lived as a brown man in a white world. Life has been good to me, but I’m still brown. I’ve been strangled by a white supremacist while I was sleeping, I have been pulled from my car, harassed and accused of nonsense by white cops. My kids have been told to ‘fuck off nigger’. Still, if you know me, you know I have as good as it gets. Still that’s all normal shit, no matter how good you have it as person of color. You can’t tell me ‘there’s no racism, we are all just the same’ - it’s not the same. Since the days of slavery when we stole human beings from their African homeland - and chained them together in the hulls of ships - there have been 2 Americas. There are good schools or slum schools, there is police protection or there is terrorism - and if you’re black your much more likely to get the one none of us want. Your wealth, my wealth - it’s built on the broken back of slavery. Wall Street, the White House - American wealth was built by the slaves who laid the bricks, before they were beaten to death. There’s a debt to pay, my friends. The end of racism is the repayment of the debt that is owed, that’s how we start the journey. When a black girl wants to chase a dream - she first has to climb the mountain of her own blackness - just to get to start line of opportunity. Some will be born poor, some will be born rich - but that can’t be dictated by race. That’s what I mean when I talk about racism. It’s not an attack on you. Ya, I know you had a black friend in college, you work with a black colleague - but racism is structural thing - you’re not out there hating on black people, I know that. But are you ready to hear all the ways black people are stopped in their tracks, on the road to freedom? About how racism isn’t an incident - its just life while being black? About how Trumps election tells us everything we need to know about just how “over racism” this country is? If slavery was really over, why are people of color still fighting to be free? Today more than I have ever seen it - America is ready for change. First we have to see the world for what it is. Then we will start writing a new chapter for America. #BLM

A post shared by zahanbillimoria (@zahanbillimoria) on

Eliot Jackson

View this post on Instagram

There is a lot going on right now. A lot of people look at me and say “You’ve never experienced racism” or “You’re not really ‘black’ so you don’t have to worry about that.” @trevornoah articulates why this is so dangerous better than I ever could. It makes me so unbelievably sad and upset that there is a perception that some of us are “OK” and others aren’t. That there is a way that we have to act to be considered culturally acceptable. As @salmasekela said, I’m just doing me and it happens to be in an area without a lot of other black people. And of course I’ve also experienced explicit racism like every other black person. Being 13 years old riding with my friends at the dirt jumps and having the police come, single out my brother and ask him to put his hand behind his back without even acknowledging anyone else and having to have one of my 13-14 year old white friends talk them out of it. Being at the motocross races and hearing a dad say “I don’t care what you do as long as you beat that n-word” And on and on. It’s not just about the people who are killing people that’s the problem. It’s about the perception of who we are. That falls on everyone’s shoulders.

A post shared by Eliot Jackson (@eliotjackson) on

]

Brooklyn Bell

View this post on Instagram

Sitting in fear, sadness, grief and loneliness the last couple of days. The feelings that make you tired. I thought I could step away to the dirt to heal. Maybe exist for a moment. But the dirt knew. I couldn’t step away to exist. I did not have that privilege. . The clear racial equalities in this country continue to knock on our doors. What do we do to be better allies? How do we respond? How do we find justice? . Thankful for the many black people who speak out even though I know they are tired. They deserve comfort, community and value for their time. . We deserve to exist. To exist. To heal . To take up space. To have joy. To have peace. . #blacklivesmatter #georgefloyd #ahmaudarbery

A post shared by Brooklyn Bell (@badgal_brooky) on

Ayesha Mcgowen

View this post on Instagram

Silence is agreement. Keep showing us who you are and we’ll remember.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ I’ve been in more than one terrifying racist situation that I wasn’t sure if it would end in my death or the death of the Black folks with me. Luckily that was not the case, but if it was, would you care? ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Would you still be silent? Would you be too scared to call it racism? Would you look into my past and try to figure out if I lived a life of crime? If I was intoxicated? If I was resisting? ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Would you justify my murder to make yourself feel better? ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ I’m calling out the bike industry. Black folks have been protesting for at least 3 days now, long enough for you to have had your marketing meetings and come up with a plan on how you can show your support. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Vague statements acknowledging that silence is not okay is not enough. Call racism by its name. Tell us you think Black Lives Matter. Tell us what actions you plan to take to better support Black folks.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ If you can’t show your support, then I know where you stand, and I know that your silence lets me know that protecting Black Lives are not worth your efforts. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Full post and resources at aquickbrownfox.com⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ #AQuickBrownFox ⁣⁣ #RepresentationMatters ⁣⁣ #BlackLivesMatter ⁣⁣ #DefundThePolice⁣⁣ #Silence

A post shared by Ayesha Rosena Anna McGowan (@ayesuppose) on

Brittany Leavitt

View this post on Instagram

I current holding a lot of emotions but think about what I am currently thankful for: To having a friend allow me to release my tears and pain for the past few days. . . To this amazing pup for all the snuggles and check-ins. . . To friends who have check in. . . Even though getting shot with a rubber bullet. It was only my arm. Its bruised. Still hurts but nothing more. There are people currently in the streets that are being shot with rubber and wooden bullets. In harsher places. The head, the eye. The sides. This is America. We can't even Urprise for our rights to just be with getting hurt by the cops. We can't sleep, in peace. We can't take a walk, in peace. We can't play in a park, in peace. We cant be in our own homes, in peace. We can't hike, in peace. We can't bird watch, in peace. We can't picnic, in peace. We can't even go through a "normal" traffic stop in peace. We can' have pool parties, in peace. We can't even run, in peace. Trigger warning: Last two photos are my arm. Not that they are two graphic but being mindful for those who don't want to see. Last photos are bruises. Photo 1: The night being in the streets. Photo 2: Today, just the bruise and bullet mark. #BLACKLIVESMATTER #saytheirnames

A post shared by Brittany Leavitt (@bleavitt8) on

Black Girl Surf

Melanin Basecamp

View this post on Instagram

Black people: be gentle with yourself. It’s okay to take a break from social media and the news. This shit is traumatic. It’s also not going away. Remember, it’s not new, there are just more people filming it. #justiceforfloyd . . Non black people: step the fuck up. If you aren’t black, you benefit from a society where state sanctioned violence against black lives usually goes unnoticed...unless it’s recorded (and even then). What are you doing to change that? You can walk through the park or your neighborhood without worrying about white women calling the police because they feel threatened by the color of your skin? That’s great. Use your privilege for good. Your silence is complicit.

A post shared by Melanin Base Camp (@melaninbasecamp) on

About The Author

stash member Teton Gravity Research

It all began with a dream and a little cash scraped together from fishing in Alaska... Since 1995, we've been an action sports media company committed to fueling progression through our ground-breaking films (37 and counting) and online content.

Sign in to comment
tags: george floyd mattered |black lives matter
{/exp:channel:entries}