Growing up in Baltimore, Tavon McGee had limited exposure to camping sites and hiking trails — let alone national parks. That all changed in 2022 when he was introduced by a longtime friend to Congaree National Park in South Carolina.
Although he had hiked on trails and camped in the wilderness, this was the first time he went to a national park. He liked it so much he got a national park passport and now is a regular visitor.
“It’s a different level of peace. It’s an eye-opening experience for us African Americans,” the 40-year-old teacher said. “We don’t see it growing up, and it’s not taught to us. The only way to seeing it is self-exposure and having other people expose us to it.”
The friend who exposed McGee to national parks, Kristen Walker, is trying to do the same nationally for other Black Americans. She and another friend, Diamon Clark, 29, launched in 2022 the Our Parks Too! a campaign they run in their free time, which encourages Black people to visit and enjoy the country’s national parks system.
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Through social media, word of mouth and testimonials from folks they have taken to these parks, the Baltimore natives and residents are steadily building an affinity between Black people and nature. They share their experiences through their blog, website and social media platforms. They plan to visit all 63 national parks and in the process inspire and bring other Black Americans along with them.
There is a need. More than 300 million people visit the national parks each year. Outdoor spaces — particularly national parks — have long been thought of for white people. Only about 5% of the visitors of national parks are Black, according to National Park Service surveys for the past 30 years.
“Black people feel historically not included in the population of people outside. We don’t feel represented,” said Walker, 38.
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The lack of Black people in these spaces has a nefarious origin story steeped in discriminatory practices such Jim Crow laws, which banned them from these areas. This means that Black people might chose destinations such as an amusem*nt park instead of a national park when they vacation.
“It was systemic that we have been excised out of these spaces,” Clark said. “That has contributed to hiking, kayaking and camping being ‘white people things.’ There is the legacy or racism, discrimination and Jim Crow that has stained our relationship with nature. But it is turning around.”
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The duo aims to inspire Black people to go to parks and historical landmarks — while also writing about the experiences they have at nearby Black-owned or friendly businesses. They compare this effort to The Negro Motorist Green Book, a guide that existed from 1936 to 1967 of lodging, gas stations and other businesses that would serve African Americans during their travels.
Originally, Walker wanted to write about soul food restaurants that neighbored some of the landmarks. But that quickly evolved into including all types of businesses, said her father, Rodney Walker.
“I thought it was a good idea in this place and time. We don’t have the restrictions we had 60 years ago. But I thought it was a good idea to promote businesses,” he said.
The pair also wants African Americans to be exposed to the 2,600 National Historic Landmarks that are part of the park system, such as the National Mall and Martin Luther King Memorial in Washington, D.C., Fort McHenry in Baltimore and Hampton National Historic Site in Baltimore County.
Keila Miles, 32, a senior research analyst and a PR specialist, in March went to Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park in Dorchester County with Walker and Clark. She originally met Walker at a research conference for minority scientists, which led to the trip.
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The Greenbelt resident appreciates that Our Parks Too! is allowing Black people to realize that being outside is a leisurely experience, something that other cultures have been able to enjoy for decades. Miles also thinks that the two are giving Black people a new appreciation for rural life around the parks.
“These are two city girls out of Baltimore. The fact that they come out of this urban environment in Baltimore and have such an appreciation for the great outdoors,” she said.
As a result of her experience with Clark and Walker, Miles now regularly hikes and walks trails — including one she discovered across the street from her house and another one farther down the street. She also plans to commemorate her four-year anniversary of successfully defending her doctorate with an outdoor hike at Savage Mill.
“I want to celebrate in nature,” she said. “I’m going to bring five of my friends.”
Jonathan Jackson, 31, went to the Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park in April and Harper’s Ferry National Park in July as part of the program.
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“I have jumped on the bandwagon,” the East Baltimore resident said. He has found there are mental health benefits to being outdoors. “It’s the release — the open air and taking in the beauty. It can help get people through things. I wasn’t expecting it. It takes me off edge. That’s been pretty amazing.”
Walker has even inspired her father to visit more national parks and outdoor spaces.
The retired Air Force reservist has been to two national parks — including Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio and Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky — and hopes to go to more with his daughter. He likes that his daughter’s organization maps out safe spaces and businesses at and around national parks.
“I hope it [Our Parks Too!] will promote interest among Black folks and other minorities that there is something out there beyond the brick and mortar of the cities,” he said. “I want us to enjoy it while we have it. I hope they benefit from the groundwork that she has laid.”
Walker and Clarke said they are seeing their efforts pay off.
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Jackson said he has noticed an increase in the number of Black people he sees at parks each time he visits a new one.
“Now I see at least a few each place I’m going, and that’s a plus,” he said. “I still want to see those numbers to go up.”
McGee now leads his own camping trips and hikes for friends and family. He estimates taking 150 Black people on these excursions in the past two years.
“My passion grew with exposure to Our Park Too! It was my duty to pass this along to more people,” he said. “I felt like it was an honor for them to expose me to it. They could have kept the information to themselves, and I wouldn’t know anything about it.”
