¡Vamos Afuera! How Underrepresented Groups Are Reclaiming The Outdoors

It’s been ours to begin with, the great outdoors… from playa to montanas. Plain and simple, underrepresented groups, Black and Latinx have not been visibly represented in the general outdoor industry from commercial advertising to national events. More Black, Latinx and other people of color are reclaiming our visibility now more than ever.

Our visibility matters in the outdoors industry for many reasons and given our close and spiritual generational relationship with nature, our ancestral roots, it makes sense that our preservation of nature and activism exists. However, colonization, environmental injustice, gentrification/displacement efforts have moved people of color farther from environments that may healthier, like access to well-maintained public parks and resources. There are also perceptions and myths that most Black and Latinx are from the ‘inner city’, lead ‘urban-centered’ lifestyles and don’t venture outside the city – while it may be true for some – many initiatives are dispelling the myths about people of color/Latinx and/or women engaging in the outdoors. The truth is, it’s ‘not a thing’, it’s always been…lifestyle driven, it just so happens that these people are black, Latinx and/or women! It’s the normalization of Latinx outdoors …and to turn you onto the magic of being outdoors and pushing your booty ‘outside’ your comfort zone. Take the leap!

We belong here, there and everywhere, even if it’s ascending Mt. Everest!

We Color Outside

A women of color led collective that holds in person retreats, local meet-ups and an online community. We Color Outside encourages participants to push their bodies to new heights, reconnect with who they are at their core, and strengthen ties as a community. Feelin’ it!

At the begining of April, in our FB Group we shared our goals for the month. Many of our members had some type of physical activity- mostly walking or hiking. Reminded me of all the incredible work our friends at Black Girls Trekkin are doing! ? PC: @blackgirlstrekkin ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #Mondaymotivation #ColorOutside #WeColorOutside #blackgirlstrekking #unlikelyhikers #optoutside #thegreatoutchea #blackgirlmagic #getoutside #beactive #naturalbeauty #beautyinnature

A post shared by Color Outside (@wecoloroutside) on Apr 23, 2018 at 8:29am PDT

Brown People Camping 

Yip, brown people DO camp and more! Launched in 2016, by a proud South Asian/Muslim American woman. BPC is a social media initiative based on Instagram that utilizes personal narratives and digital storytelling to promote greater diversity in our public lands and outdoors community. Tag #BrownPeopleCamping on your next outdoor adventure – tell your story!

#Sponsored: It was one of those days I outran the sun and dared my shadow to keep up. I wrung every drop of energy from my motion. And when it was all over, I lay my head down to dream about how I made possible what I believed was not. . I smiled to myself in the darkness recalling how despite every fear and self-doubt that echoed in my heart, I had pushed on. How I craned my neck towards the sky, squinted at that red-rock summit and believed that reaching it was not possible for someone like me. How I smiled at every child and elderly person who passed me on the trail, trying to hide the shame I felt about my aching knees, pounding heart and consistent inability to keep pace with the rest of the world. How I shook my head no every time I learned there were higher elevations, more switchbacks and steeper climbs around every corner. How I white-knuckle gripped the chains on the side of the mountain and prayed to God to keep my feet steady, all just to get to the top and savor the moment when I reached the Angels Landing. . When I ran out of energy, I let hope and hell yeah’s propel me forward. And when I lay my head down that night I relished how instead of self-doubt, I let my courage define me and it forever changed the course of my possibilities. In those last hazy moments of consciousness, before I fell asleep, I counted silently on my fingers all the things I accomplished that day; measuring them in miles, steps, elevation, tears, and grit. @REI #OptOutside #BrownPeopleCamping

A post shared by Ambreen Tariq (@brownpeoplecamping) on Mar 15, 2018 at 8:11am PDT

Latino Outdoors

Connecting cultura and community with the outdoors, Latino Outdoors is a non-profit organization holding a space for Latinx outdoors for sure! California redwood forest hikes, anyone? Most of their events are FREE to the community.

?Latino Outdoors Beanie Giveaway? Here’s how to enter the giveaway: 1) Like this photo? . 2) Follow @latinooutdoors . 3) Tag your adventure buddy . 4) Upload a photo ? of your favorite outdoor adventure and use #latinooutdoorsbeaniegiveaway . One winner will be chosen at random on April 15, 2018. Open to US Residents only. Must be 18 & over. . . . Latino Outdoors LA Coordiantor @lemarci rocking the beanie while venturing in her local San Gabriel Mountains! She’s also holding a really big pine cone ? #giveaway #lationoutdoors #beanie #latinasoutdoors #vamosafuera #optoutside #diversifyoutdoors

A post shared by Latino Outdoors ~NonProfit Org (@latinooutdoors) on Apr 1, 2018 at 12:09am PDT

Latinx Hikers

Led by two Latinas with a serious passion for the outdoors and hiking! Latinx outdoors and inclusion in the outdoors space is their mission and they bring it with engaging (and motivating our booty) Instagram posts.

[#Sponsored]⠀ What is Latinx?⠀ Latinx is a gender-neutral way of describing people of Latin descent. The best we’ve heard it explained is if you have a table full of women you call them Latinas…the minute a man comes to sit at the table…the gender transitions over to Latino. Instead, you’d use Latinx. ⠀ ⠀ Latinx, to us, is also a way to represent a new generation of Latinx who grew up in the United States. We grew up listening to Kings of Leon and Sonora Dinamita, some of us don’t speak Spanish, some of us don’t know how to dance, some of us date outside our race, we tend to be more individualistic than previous generations. We take the traditions of our parents and ancestors and merge them with our new world values and beliefs. ⠀ Latinxhikers was created by Adriana Garcia and Luz Lituma in August 2017 after we noticed a lack of representation for Latinx and POC in the outdoor world. We use this platform to share our stories and experiences in order to promote more diversity in the outdoors community. We want the outdoors to be a more inclusive community where everyone feels like they are represented and belong. We want to create a community not just online but offline, also. We’re hosting our first Atlanta meet up in April and more to come in the summer in the southeast region so make sure to keep an eye out.⠀

A post shared by LatinXHikers (@latinxhikers) on Mar 26, 2018 at 1:09pm PDT