May 30 to June 5 is Black Birders Week, aimed at increasing recognition of Black birders, the racism they experience and the importance of diversity in outdoor activities.
The idea of a “birder” conjures up a specific image, and often people of color don’t see themselves in it, but there are several organizations in the Portland area working to make the great outdoors more inviting, secure and accessible to all.
Pamela Slaughter’s organization, PDX People of Color Outdoors, is one group working to broaden the image of birding, and more importantly, transcend the racism and trauma that make people of color reluctant to explore the outdoors.
“Because that elitist image goes with it, there’s not only active racism among birders, but there’s resistance, sometimes with people of color, because they don’t connect birding with themselves,” Slaughter said.
“Because that elitist image goes with it, there’s not only active racism among birders, but there’s resistance, sometimes with people of color, because they don’t connect birding with themselves.”
Slaughter created PDX People of Color Outdoors as a “healing space” for BIPOC members to organize outings and enjoy the outdoors. It is a supportive community networked online with approximately 2,000 members connected through social media. Similar groups include Wild Diversity, Outdoor Afro and Portland POC Hikes, which themselves are among a diverse range of culturally specific groups encouraging outdoor exploration and education.
“When white people get used to seeing other people in areas that they thought (of), consciously or unconsciously, as their space, then they understand that this is a space for everybody,” said Slaughter, who has experienced racist confrontations while hiking. “And that is good for everybody. It’s good for everybody when everybody goes outside. We all benefit when people are less stressed and more happy. And that’s what going outdoors and enjoying nature does for people.”
OUTDOORS: One of the nation’s few Black falconers educates young people beyond the classroom
Emily Pinkowitz, Portland Audubon’s education director, said culturally specific outdoor groups are important to provide safe spaces for people who might not feel they have the equipment, the expertise or the feeling of safety to venture out with a historically white organization, especially if they’ve already experienced racism in the outdoors. As one of their partners told her, she said, the trauma is real.
“Organizations like Wild Diversity, People of Color Outdoors, Outdoor Afro, those spaces are really important, as safe spaces where you don’t have to explain who you are, why you’re there,” Pinkowitz said. “You don’t have to face the kind of implicit prejudice or unconscious prejudice that other people might project at you on walks that are not constructed specifically as safe spaces.”
Portland Audubon takes a supporting role and partners with other outdoor organizations to provide free binoculars and educators to make birding more accessible, while honoring the need for those organizations to take the lead on expeditions and create a safe space for their participants, Pinkowitz said.
Portland Audubon also is planning its own suite of free programs this year called Bird Days of Summer to encourage more people to get engaged with birding and the outdoors.
“We want to be a place where everyone is welcome,” she said. “Our tagline is, ‘Together for nature.’ And we take that seriously. And part of that means actively countering legacies of white privilege and white supremacy within Audubon. And so we are doing a lot of partner work with the goals of diversifying access to the outdoors and while also offering more free programs here at Portland Audubon.”
STREET ROOTS NEWS: Some recreational spaces out of reach to marginalized communities
Darryl Ramsey is the lead for the Portland branch of Outdoor Afro, a national organization that works to get more people of color to experience the outdoors. Ramsey said he focuses on easy access events all people can get involved in regardless of their experience level, such as hiking, snowshoeing and biking.
“The reason that I think it’s important is because there are the health benefits and psychological benefits, and then there’s just the benefit of having fun, being able to engage with something new that we think is really important. It’s something that for the most part, minority communities, and in our case, with our focus, the African American community, kind of misses out on,” he told Street Roots.
To make excursions more accessible to people who may not have felt safe exploring the outdoors in the past, Outdoor Afro provides thorough descriptions of what people can expect, the target audience for the event, and information on personal safety and risk mitigation. It’s also a great way to create community, Ramsey said.
“What better way to develop a community than in the outdoors,” he said.