W
hat being an Angeleno means to me has shifted since my days as a young black kid in Leimert Park. Born in 1966—the year immediately following the civil unrest of the Watts Riots—I grew up in a racially charged era.
Much is different now, but what remains are cultural artifacts, social cues that define the unwritten set of expectations we have for what people of a certain racial or ethnic background are supposed to do as part of “normal behavior.” For many minorities in this country, these expectations do not include embracing the outdoors, whether for sport or work. There remains a racial divide between those who participate in outdoor activities and those who don’t, a yawning chasm I call “the adventure gap.” As a professional journalist, I have bridged it. My work has taken me to
distant parts of this remarkable blue-green planet, from the jungles of Cen- tral America to the high alpine lakes of the Andes, the deserts of Eastern Af- rica and the fords of Norway below the Arctic Circle. In the United States I have hiked through many national parks, from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Grand Canyon. I’ve climbed the granite walls of Yosemite Valley and trekked deep into the heart of Alaska’s Denali. But along the way, I have also explored the urban frontier, venturing into
the small preserves and manmade parks that pay homage to the concept of wilderness. Though still within reach of WiFi and warm beds, they provide a space where even those often confined by culture and socioeconomic status to asphalt, glass, concrete, and steel can indulge a primal need for fresh air, green trees, and free-flowing water. I have dedicated much of my career to telling stories of outdoor ad-
venture, encouraging the apprehensive to explore the divide between the safety of the city and the wonders of nature. Through my work and life as a person of color—with roots in one of America’s biggest and most formidable metros—I know from experience the value that urban green space can have in creating a profound appreciation and love for nature in all its forms. For me, it began at Griffith Park. For the next generation of adventurers, it may begin on the Los Angeles River.
58 · LAND&PEOPLE · SPRING/SUMMER 2015
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