Congratulations, Outdoor Retailer. You鈥檝e moved your biannual trade show from a state, Utah, whose leadership is openly hostile to the concept of inclusive public lands and pushed the Trump administration to shrink Bears Ears National Monument, which is so critical for its protection of Native lands that agreed to co-manage it. You moved to Colorado, a place progressive enough to legalize marijuana and have the inestimable Latino adventurer Luis Benitez in charge of its office of outdoor recreation industry.

Denver is a far more acceptable place to convene more than 1,100 outdoor and active-lifestyle brands, as the industry will do . But we haven鈥檛 changed the stance we held when the show was held in Salt Lake City for the previous 20 years: We still ain鈥檛 coming.

It may be a different venue, but it鈥檚 the same old party. Like our president shuttling between the White House and Mar-a-Lago, the places change, but the faces鈥攁nd results鈥攔emain the same. Outdoor Retailer remains a show of whiteness and power in their greatest form鈥攁 gathering to promote gear, products, companies, and commitment to the great outdoors that apparently does not include any people of color.

Oh, there will be a smattering of us in Denver, hoping to be noticed. And it will be hard not to notice when the few don鈥檛 look like the many. We know the feeling well. We were just part of a panel, along with our friend Scott Briscoe of Patagonia and Expedition Denali, at the . We often were the only three nonwhites wherever we went in the small town of Nevada City, in one of the very whitest counties in California.

Even so, what followed us around in Nevada City were the winds of change. The festival has developed a statement of inclusion and encourages equitable work among filmmakers. It asked us to hold an honest discussion about race, and we did, in a room jammed with people on a sunny day with films showing all around us. People stopped us on the streets to ask for leads, names, and advice. The past few years, the festival roster has included films showcasing people of color.

This is a small organization in a small place making small changes, but as hotelier J. Willard Marriott once said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 the little things that make the big things possible.鈥� We see the bigger possibilities, unfulfilled, in the outdoor industry, which according to its own research contributes billions of dollars to the U.S. economy.

So many outdoor companies have talked to us about the importance of diversity and inclusion that we鈥檝e lost count. We鈥檝e always agreed wholeheartedly. While filmmakers might have an artist鈥檚 sensibility about the value of inclusion, the outdoor industry鈥檚 is a survival imperative. If your customer base is almost exclusively white and aging out, as is happening with the membership of environmental groups, then you need to ride the coattails of demographic change in this country. If you haven鈥檛 courted people of color with urgency and sincerity by the time nonwhites are the majority in the United States, in 2044 or earlier, will you still be in business?

The outdoor industry has talked a good talk, but its actions have been barely a whisper. The racial makeup of management teams and boards of directors speak the real truth. Where are the decision-makers of color? Where are the faces of color among employees and in social media and other marketing materials? American history has us so accustomed to being excluded, all it might really take is just an invitation鈥攖o look, to buy, to build loyalty. But we鈥檙e still waiting for that first company to publicly and overtly court us.

The lack of attention prompts us to gaze into a mirror and ask: Why has an entire industry looked past us without a second thought of inclusion? Why has an entire industry shown little to no interest in having us as the face of their products? Why has the outdoor media not placed us on their covers? Are we not enough?

Or maybe we鈥檙e too much.

We noticed an event at this year鈥檚 winter Outdoor Retailer show, 鈥�.鈥� It made our hearts skip a beat, but in the end it was yet another slap in the face. A panel of four white executives discussing a new world is not much different than the sci-fi films from most of our lifetimes鈥攏either much envisions people of color in the future. Three years ago, the so-called CEO Pledge touched off a movement for female leadership, and 鈥減rogress鈥� was made by hiring women executives who were white. The industry has become adept at playing this shell game of intersectionality鈥攃loaking racial inequities with whitewashed choices based on gender, sexual identity, and physical disadvantage.

It鈥檚 time to stop the dishonest narrative of nonwhites missing from the outdoors. We鈥檙e there, just not the way the country鈥檚 default culture likes to define it. Our absence, and the supposed need to get us outside, is a fable the outdoor industry likes to perpetuate to justify not showing us. As such, we find great hope from looking within, from entrepreneurs of color like Len Necefer of . If we can鈥檛 be written into the script, we might as well flip it. If you can鈥檛 join them, beat them. And in a few years maybe, while the show goes on in Denver, we鈥檒l be in a place like, say, Flint, Michigan, telling our own stories and celebrating our own successes.

Glenn Nelson founded to cover race and equity in the outdoors.

Teresa Baker is the founder of .

The post Op-Ed: Outdoor Companies Drag Their Feet on Inclusion appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Every time I see a marketing ad by an outdoor retailer or an outdoor publication, I get more agitated. Not every outdoor enthusiast is an extreme athlete, white, and male, yet that鈥檚 nearly always the image displayed as the model for outdoor enthusiasts.

It is extremely frustrating to hear over and over again that outdoor retailers and publications understand my concerns about diversifying that image yet find that they do nothing. It鈥檚 one thing to hear me, but it鈥檚 another to effect change. We need outdoor retailers and publications to instigate a new normal.

At the recent , more than 100 amazing women convened at the Presidio of San Francisco to discuss issues like lack of inclusion, sexual harassment, and workplace biases. 鈥淚t was the most diverse outdoor event I鈥檝e been to in the industry,鈥� says . 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to keep coming together in new ways and making our outdoor communities stronger.鈥� Attendees ranged from extreme outdoor enthusiasts to weekend outdoor warriors. They鈥檙e mothers, CEOs, government agency employees, grassroots organizers, and more. We all asked the same questions: How do we change this? How do we change a culture of exclusion that hasn鈥檛 been called to task in a way that has motivated people to act?

Here鈥檚 my first suggestion to the industry if you want to show that you mean it: Diversify your covers. I鈥檝e been told that there is a 鈥渕odel鈥� for outdoor retailers and publications鈥攚hite and thin (and mostly male). The few women who make the covers of mainstream outdoor magazines are equally young, white, and thin. I have yet to see a woman of color on these covers, other than in a group shot. Backpacker, 国产吃瓜黑料, Outdoor Life: Are there no women of color making traction in the outdoors who are worthy of your covers? I want to see a woman of color hold that space as an individual kickass outdoor enthusiast. I want to see women with various body types. (Those of us who lead amazing outdoor lives aren鈥檛 all a size six.)

I asked summit attendees to share some of their own open letters to the outdoor industry as well. Here are some of the changes they want to see.

Tell Our Stories

Miho Aida: Filmmaker, Environmental Educator, and Outdoor Guide

I founded a media project called 鈥�.鈥� This project aims to empower women, particularly girls and women of color, through outdoor role models who look, sound, and live like them so they know what outdoor adventure, career, and leadership opportunities are possible.

I created my project because often I feel invisible鈥攚hether playing outside, attending environmental conferences, or working in outdoor education. For example, other climbers will typically approach my climbing partner to ask questions about the route, even when I鈥檓 clearly geared up as the lead.

Why don鈥檛 they see me?

Then I stumbled upon an explanation. Typically, the people with whom I interact in outdoor arenas are white. Similarly, the industry鈥檚 media tend to showcase scientists, activists, or athletes as white and usually male. No wonder people don鈥檛 see me; I am not what they are accustomed to seeing in our field. But I am here, and so are other women鈥攊ncluding women of color and those of differing ages, abilities, sizes, sexual orientations, and socioeconomic backgrounds. We all need role models, but if our media continually fail to provide images and stories of people who look, sound, or live like us, we have failed huge portions of our global population.

Outdoor media has enormous responsibility to diversify the images that surround us to be more reflective of our society. We need more outdoor women in the media who are portrayed without being sexualized. We demand more images and stories of people of color, as we are the global majority. We must feature more people of all sizes and abilities.

This work cannot be done without collaborating with the entire outdoor industry. In our ever-divisive world, I would like us to come together to create more inclusive and just outdoor media and industry that welcome and inspire all people.

Hire Us

Chelle Roberts: Blogger and Traveler

More brands have an opportunity to become thought leaders in the outdoor space by embracing diversity in their market segmentation and advertising endeavors. Like the movement happening in the tech industry, there鈥檚 an opportunity for introspection about the diversity of internal teams and across the industry at large. I look forward to the day where there are more breakout sessions at industry trade shows focused on diversity and inclusion, more outdoor education events focused on communities of color, more gear options that embrace bodies with curves, and more stories about women achieving amazing milestones in the outdoors. It matters to me鈥攁s a human, a woman, a person of color, and a consumer with purchasing power.

Don鈥檛 Silo Us

Graciela Cabello: Activist

I鈥檇 like to see brands respond to the diversity of the outdoor movement by more accurately reflecting the diversity of consumers who purchase their products. People of color are very underrepresented in mainstream marketing efforts, yet they contribute significantly to sales. According to an , 鈥渢he outdoor consumer landscape looks like the larger U.S. population, a much broader market than historically targeted by the outdoor industry.鈥� And Latinos spend more than any other group on outdoor gear.

I recently looked at two brands鈥� social media feeds and had to scroll quite a bit to find a person of color in the images. When I did find two back-to-back pictures, they were images highlighting a program the brand had supported as part of its philanthropy efforts. Same scenario with the second brand. I was disappointed to see this is the message they chose to send to their followers without acknowledging the many people of color who are loyal to the brands and are not part of their charity efforts. What that says to me is, 鈥淲e鈥檒l take your purchases, but we don鈥檛 need to acknowledge you as part of our customer base.鈥�

I don鈥檛 think exclusion is the intent鈥攂rands just don鈥檛 have inclusion in mind or diverse-enough teams to help them shift with the changing demographics. I remain optimistic things are moving in the right direction and such changes will bring about larger impacts in stewardship, recreation, and advocacy鈥攆or the greater good of all.

Do Business with Us

Cianna Walker: Community Activist

The outdoors can be a place for individuals to find greater understanding of who they are and connect to something greater than themselves. The outdoors can also be intimidating and exclusionary for those who are are underrepresented in the industry. When the price for 鈥渁ppropriate鈥� gear is beyond your scope of reality and you rarely see a reflection of yourself represented in marketing, the outdoors become inaccessible and unwelcoming.

It is my hope that companies and organizations create access for those who often exist on the peripheral landscape and provide space in the center. A few ways to do this: By creating genuinely affordable gear for low-income communities. By producing advertisements that are inclusive and representative of our global community ethnically, culturally, inclusive of the gender spectrum, etc. By having marginalized groups represented in their agencies鈥攐n boards, in hiring committees, as staff who have influence in decision making, and so on.

Acknowledge Us Before It鈥檚 Too Late

Glenn Nelson: Journalist

With an administration that is hostile to equity and inclusion in public lands, there is great opportunity for the private outdoor industry. No votes or executive orders are required to make change there. Which makes me wonder: What are y鈥檃ll waiting for? Why aren鈥檛 you courting us? Putting us in your catalogs? Funding us? Hiring us? Consulting us?

The big conceit is that people of color are not outdoors. The hell with that! We鈥檙e all people of the earth; of course we鈥檙e outdoors鈥攋ust not always in the way the mainstream likes to define and count. We need gear and supplies like the next (white) person. While you sit, paralyzed, and don鈥檛 act, we鈥檙e making do with our urban clothing, sneakers, and jury-rigged carrying systems. It might not be long before those become permanent fixtures in our outdoor cultures鈥攁nd we start our own manufacturing and retail companies. After all, we鈥檙e going to be the majority in this country before long. We will represent a massive market that you will have overlooked, and we will use it to serve our own interests, probably in your place.

Don鈥檛 Let Yourselves Off the Hook, Ever

Karlee Jewell: Team Leader and Outdoor Steward

We need all parts of the outdoor industry working together, always, to build a better and more inclusive cohort of outdoors lovers.

First: Establish a baseline understanding of how people鈥檚 many different experiences and cultures affect how they relate to the outdoors and outdoor recreation. Establishing this baseline will allow us to be more relevant to all.

Second: Outdoor brands need to meet people where they are. This includes addressing and working to mitigate: lack of access to outdoor spaces and knowledge, lack of proper gear, concerns over safety, economic disadvantages, and lack of diverse representation in outdoor spaces, which can lead to an overall feeling of inadequacy.

Third: Advocate for the preservation of cultural dance, storytelling, and legends that connect people with the outdoors.

We need everybody in our outdoor spaces. Our upbringings, cultures, and perspectives contribute to a more comprehensive outlook so we can better protect the places we love.

The post Outdoor Industry: This Is What Inclusion Looks Like appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

I鈥檝e often wondered what would push me to the point where I was wholly dedicated to the protection of our public lands. I reached that point on Wednesday.

On April 26, Donald Trump that Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke is to reconsider the protection of monuments聽set aside under the last three presidents鈥�21 years鈥� worth of designations.聽

If any are overturned, we stand to lose protected public spaces that took years to acquire. It took even longer to document the history of these areas and to prove their importance. Many of the monuments at risk, like , tell a story of Native Americans, African Americans, and Latino Americans. Many, like the controversial Bears Ears National Monument, are deeply important to these communities. Many, like ,聽document the history of civil rights and unrest in this country. Also at risk are the and the, both of which honor diverse American experiences. These are important to me personally because of for a more inclusive outdoors. To do away with any of them would be a slap in the face to all who came before us. Too many fought for too long to preserve environmental protections, civil rights, and historical facts in these places; we cannot give up now.

Not on my watch will these places be taken away without a fight through the courts or through protest. We must resist the current president and administration who wish to see these ancestral lands sold off to the highest bidders. Undoing protections for these monuments would lead to permanent and devastating damage, and time is not on our side.

Last year, I joined with other members of the to ask President Obama to address concerns about diversity and inclusion in outdoor spaces, which he did before leaving office by issuing a. Clearly, the new administration does not plan to uphold the goals outlined in the memorandum. The goal of the Next 100 Coalition is to advocate for what is at stake if we don鈥檛 all stand up for public lands. For the current president to promote anything less than honoring these sacred places is an attack on all that the Next 100 Coalition is .

I will continue do my part to persuade all acting interests to do the right thing and combine the efforts of the Next 100 Coalition with others to stand up to this action by the president and say no. Not this time. And not ever.

Teresa Baker is founder of the聽聽and a member of the, which aims to make public lands more inclusive and reflective of the country's diversity.

The post Op-Ed: Reviewing the National Monuments Is an Insult to Us All appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.