Re: [Paddlewise] Several subjects. Was Re: Double fatality

At 06:44 AM 9/25/00 -0400, John Winters wrote:
>>
>> 2.  African-Americans in seakayaking
>
>Possibly cultural but also possibly economic.

I dunno. I can think of many other outdoor activities that are basically
individually driven that have low to nil afroamerican participation --
hiking, camping, climbing, hunting, and so on. Some are not particularly
expensive to be involved in, so economics wouldn't seem to be a major
factor. It's probably more of a cultural issue.

The last issue of the North Country Trail Association's "North Star" that I
edited carried a column on this subject by the Association President,
Werner Veit, which I quote a part here, with permission:

"Like so many of our members, I belong and have belonged to a number of
outdoor and environmental organizations. In my case, The Nature
Conservancy, Audubon, the Land Use Institute, the Land Conservancy of West
Michigan and I support a number more with financial contributions, effort
and time.

"Lots of my colleagues and friends belong to the Sierra Club, the
Wilderness Society, Trout and Ducks Unlimited, the Wildlife Federation, the
Rails to Trails Conservancy, the National Parks Association, Friends of the
Forest -- I could go on and on.

"The members of all these groups as the members of the North Country Trail
Association share many ideals, a love of the outdoors, a determination to
make the earth just a little more pure, to preserve just a little more of
what we cherish in nature, to pass on to our grandchildren just a little
more of the treasurers we have inherited. We share one other
characteristic: We’re almost all white.

"I think about that occasionally, but not often enough.  The reasons for
our single color dimension are certainly understandable.  The concerns of
public-spirited minorities frequently are the most basic: decent housing,
quality education, meaningful jobs, end to discrimination and safety in
neighborhoods.  That there’s little energy left to worry about completing a
foot trail through the Northern U.S. is self-evident.

"It’s certainly true that everyone shares the concerns paramount in the
minds of many minority groups. But it is further true that our efforts on
behalf of the outdoors have a moral and spiritual dimension as powerful as
care for the seemingly more basic needs of society . . ."

It's not just kayaking.

-- Wes

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