Lack of Blacks at National Parks Worries Ranger

Lack of Blacks at National Parks Worries Ranger
Only 1 Percent of Visitors to National Parks Are African Americans


America's national parks have a quiet power and an arresting beauty, but to Yosemite National Park Ranger Shelton Johnson, they also speak the truth.
PHOTO Park Ranger Shelton Johnson hopes more minorities will visit national parks
America's national parks have a quiet power and an arresting beauty. But to Yosemite Park Ranger...

"They tell the story of us as Americans," Johnson said. "They tell the story of ourselves as human beings, in this world, on this planet."

Johnson is one of the country's few African-American park rangers, and his is a rare face of color at Yosemite because less than 1 percent of visitors to the national park in California are black.

"There's not a shortage of African Americans at Disneyland or Disney World," Johnson said. "But when you visit these wild places, like Zion and Arches and Yellowstone, that's when you start seeing less cultural diversity."


http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/story?id=8341029&page=1

I think he is right and that is really sad. I always notice lots of visitors from other countries.

bermuda shorts, sandals, and black socks, hopping over the guard rail and going right to the edge to get a picture. All the while singing "Home, Home on Ze Range."

When I was a kid my parents took me camping nearly every weekend, and there was no shortage of various ethnicities there.

But that was when the park system was a mostly free service, no admission, no "reservations" for camping a year or more ahead of time (thats a crime as far as Im concerned) and a camp site was .50c a day.

Camping shouldnt require an American Express card.

And there is no racial angle to that inclination

There are free campsites all over the Kern Valley. No reservation needed. RVs to tents. 3 hours from LA. There is also no reservation camping at Lake Isabella. If people want to camp its still out there and cheap.

As for me, I live remotely in what some would call a cabin...I camp every day.

find the ones off the beaten path, or go to the popular ones in the offseason. They're there, and nobody's being shut out. As one of the other posters said, it's still cheaper than Disney.

Why does it have to IMMEDIATELY become an issue of "economics" as if black people can't afford to sit in the damn woods for a weekend?

lodges as well as dining and comforts as anywhere, or you can camp if you like the whole experience. The only thing missing is TV and other wired in things like that and internet.

:dunce:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8588894

They're in the Grand Canyon today..should have pics tomorrow.

wilderness areas and noticed that as well. It's strange because Asian visitors are very much in evidence and love vacationing in those places. But I'm not even going to point a finger at blacks as much as Americans in general. There are so many European tourists as well that they outnumber the white Americans. I think Americans, white or black have been propagandized to go to places like Disneyland and Five Flags, instead of the most spectacular places in this country.

I'd be bored. I'd rather go to Disney World.

And at night if you don't want to make your own camp fire, there are presentations all over the valley floor plus activities at the hotel.

this great state of California. There are, indeed, spectacular things to see and great things to do... swimming in the crystal clear waters of the Yuba, hiking to the waterfalls in the El Dorado forest, basking in the cascading water of the Feather, watching the sea otters off the bluffs of Big Sur, canoeing in the Russian River, rafting in the Klamath, hiking in the hushed fairyland of redwood groves, rolling down the magnificent dunes of Morro, lying on the banks of river at night with my friends, drinking bourbon and gazing at the billions and billions of stars move across the sky.

and I always hated having to go home. :)

"Howdy. Yanno, we'll don't git too many black folk out here." (Continue staring...) :)

Seriously, I think wilderness activities/interests are something you pick up from your parents and peers. For me, it was family campouts and boy scouts. So, black people aren't going to just happen to start camping until there's a critical mass of early adopters - which is why outreach programs at parks and schools as well as organized activities like scouting are important. As a backpacker myself, it's troubling when a large chunk of the population is unrepresented, since that's a big chunk that won't be as drawn to voting for outdoor issues like protecting access or supporting parks...

:sarcasm:

Just a question. I have seen black folks at parks, like the Grand Canyon. But they just don't go "oooh... aaah..." like the white folks do. They see a big hole in the ground and don't think much about it.

I don't know, culture, maybe?

because i don't drive...

... something one's circle of friends and family do. Even being in Scouting doesn't carry forward. It's a cultural lifestyle and if it's not something ANY of your friends and family do, then you won't either. It also requires an investment, to some degree, in camping equipment, no matter how one camps. It's not just a matter of packing a suitcase and checking in.

The only parks I've seen black people at were the Everglades and the Dry Tortugas. :shrug:

I agree with the people above that it's probably cultural. I was raised to go camping, and I feel bad for kids who neverr got to go when they were little.

white kids ?

not exactly a national park but i'm thinking it wouldn't be unusual. especially if the park is near the school as CI was to my school at the time.