I Spy with my Little Eye a Brown Family at the Park

The lack of BIPOC in public outdoor spaces and the efforts to repair historic barriers

By Vishalli Alagappan

My family has a strange affinity for waterfalls. We always seem to hike our out-of-shape butts to waterfalls, eat the standard Indian picnic lunch of rice, yogurt, and fried potatoes, and argue about how many rocks my brother and I can bring back home. As much as I loved these summer day trips, I always felt out of place with our modest swim trunks, strong-smelling packed lunches, and loud conversations. This is a common sentiment with people of color since the American park system was created to promote an American identity: white, male, and young. 

US Parks have been conceptualized and actualized by racist white men. To John Muir, often accredited as the founder of the National Park System, Indigenous people who have lived here for centuries “seemed to have no right place in the landscape.” Although historical racial discrimination has repelled BIPOC from outoor recreation, it’s important to note that cultural differences are a contributing factor to this nature gap. White Americans’ leisure behavior should not be the benchmark, something that BIPOC must reach. However, there is much that can be done to repair historic barriers that excluded BIPOC in public outdoor spaces. 

The Minneapolis Parks Foundation partners with Juxtaposition Arts every year to bring BIPOC youth insight into park planning. Juxtaposition Arts apprentices designed the interpretive steel rail featured in the Great Northern Greenway Overlook on 26th Ave N, illustrating the connection North Minneapolis has to the Mississippi River. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources also offers various outdoor educational courses in multiple languages, as well as a college-to-careers pathway program for underrepresented STEM students. As these initiatives develop and expand, I hope to spy with my little eye more BIPOC families enjoying public outdoor spaces without apprehension or the pressure to follow white practices of outdoor recreation.