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A BLM Reading List For The Outdoor Community
Black Lives Matter. At Backbone we are striving to learn about our shortcomings and find ways to be better advocates in the fight against racial inequality and injustice. Below are some resources we have found useful during this process. Many of them address ways in which we as a company and an industry have fallen short. We know there is a lot of hard work to do to become more inclusive and diverse. We are ready to be challenged, to continue learning, and to do more to advance diversity within our company and our industry.
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Education and Opinion
New York Times: Black Environmentalists Talk About Climate and Anti-Racism
Women’s Health: Black Lives Matter Explained: Why You Need to Stop Saying “All Lives Matter”
The Atlantic/REI: Five Ways to Make The Outdoors More Inclusive
She Explores: Towards A More Inclusive Outdoors
Indigenous Women Hike: Decolonization: Points Of Action
NAACP: Environmental & Climate Justice
Mashable: How to Make Sure Racial Justice is Part of Climate Activism
Adventure Journal: Kids From All Kinds of Neighborhoods Need National Parks
Outside: Now Is Not The Time To Post Your Adventure Photos
Outside: Is Diversity Just A Marketing Strategy For Gear Brands?
Terra Incognita: How the Unintentional Racism of the Outdoor Industry is Getting in the Way of Creating Authentic Community
Washington Post: Racism Derails Our Efforts To Save The Planet
Outdoor Organizations and Activist Groups
Links to Take Action
Donate to Big City Mountaineers
Donate to NAACP Legal Defense Fund
NY Mag: 115 Ways to Donate in Support of Black Lives and Communities of Color
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We will continue to share resources like these and make a conscious effort to use our platform to elevate BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and Peoples of Color) voices in our industry. We have launched a JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) working group within Backbone to continue the discussion about how we can create anti-racist changes internally. Our first steps are to provide additional diversity training for our employees and leadership teams and to create and broadcast job openings to reach a broader, more diverse audience. Staff can now use their annual paid volunteer hours to attend protests and we have introduced a 2:1 match for employee donations to organizations that fight racial injustice and promote diversity, inclusion and equity. This is the beginning; we’re committed to do more and be better.
Onward.