Latino Outdoors leads group hike to connect more minorites outdoorsMeet the Ambassadors
On Feb. 11, Outdoor Chattanooga and the Office of Multicultural Affairs are hosting an event to officially kick off the Outdoor Ambassadors program. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium. There, the 10 ambassadors will be introduced to the public, followed by a screening of The American Ascent, a 2014 documentary that chronicles the first African-American expedition to climb North America’s highest peak, Denali. The event is free to the public.
Today, more than 318 million people live in the United States: 63 percent Caucasian; 17 percent Hispanic; and 12 percent African-American. By 2050, the U.S. population is expected to grow by 100 million. Hispanic and mixed-race communities are expected to triple. Whites will become a minority.
And how, one might ask, is that relevant to an outdoor magazine?
Here is the long answer.In 2014, The Outdoor Foundation concluded a six-year study that tracked Americans’ participation in outdoor recreation. It found that 48 percent, or 141 million Americans, partook in at least one outdoor activity in 2014 – jogging, camping, birdwatching, skateboarding, etc. Seventy percent of those participants between the ages of 6 and 24 were Caucasian while only 10 percent were Latino and another 10 percent were African-American.
Indeed, the lack of diversity in outdoor recreation is stark, causing some environmentalists to worry who will protect open spaces in the future.