Intersectional Efforts

Promoting racial equity and inclusion in recreation

By Antonio Williams

When people have access to the outdoors, they thrive. From improving mental health to increasing physical activity, the outdoors has much to offer anyone privileged to live close to a park or an open space.

Photo: © Can Stock Photo / karelnoppe

Yet not all communities enjoy equal access to open space in their neighborhoods. A 2020 Center for American Progress report found that 68 percent of blacks and 67 percent of Latinos live in a nature-deprived area, while only 23 percent of whites do. 

Chances are, if you live in a low-income neighborhood or a neighborhood comprised primarily of residents who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC), your neighborhood lacks even basic infrastructure, like sidewalks, crosswalks, and proper lighting. How can you feel represented in recreational spaces when you have few, safe opportunities in your own community? And even if there is a park in your community, how can you feel comfortable or safe exercising free from harassment or scrutiny due to the color of your skin? 

My parents’ generation remembers the humiliation of blacks- and whites-only swimming pools and public beaches. Even today, black park-goers, like Chris Cooper, have had the cops called simply for bird-watching in a public park. To this day, many of my black peers and family members are hesitant about accessing public recreational spaces and parks.

Inclusion Starts With Us

As industry professionals, we have an opportunity to finally make the outdoors an equal and open space for everyone, not just a privileged few. Though some industry leaders and departments have taken steps to make gyms and parks more inclusive, these efforts haven’t gone far enough. How do we accomplish this?

First, listen to consumers. What do black and brown consumers need from a fitness or recreational space to feel included, and to feel safe? Are you including these community members in the planning process for a new park or pool? Are you including services requested by the community? And, if you do include certain services, are they considering the needs of all customers?

For instance, does your rec center provide hair-care products in locker rooms? Many common hair-care products, like shampoo or brushes, aren’t designed for black hair, requiring black women to bring their own. What was meant as a convenience for some customers leaves others feeling excluded and unseen. White experiences are not universal experiences. To be inclusive in the industry is to recognize and embrace the many experiences lived by those who live, work, and play in neighborhoods.

Inclusive approaches require synergy between initiatives and departments. A marketing department may include black representation in advertisements. But is the hiring team prioritizing bringing on black staff members? Or taking BIPOC community members’ feedback into account when designing new programs or re-thinking existing spaces? Treat inclusion with a holistic approach, not a checklist.

Above all, don’t patronize or stereotype customers. Some attempts by fitness professionals and recreation departments to make spaces more inclusive have stopped at playing hip-hop in the park or using urban vernacular in marketing campaigns. Inclusion goes far, far beyond stereotypes that fail to recognize the real needs and wants of people in their communities. Just like anyone else, black people are people first and foremost. Inclusion is not simply including tokens. It’s making space for people and giving them the respect and representation they deserve in spaces that belong to all of us.

What We Share Matters

Race isn’t what separates or binds us. It’s culture, or the experiences we share as people with a similar background and shared history. As members of the African diaspora and the descendants of families who experienced forced enslavement, we share similar challenges but also similar opportunities for pride, joy, and resilience.

But even in what we share—from art to traditions to stories—we each come with our own personal journeys and experiences. Along with race and culture, we have unique backgrounds based on gender, sexuality, age, family, abilities, relationship status, etc. The experiences of a cisgender straight black man are far different from those of a transgender black woman, even though both are black.

When we work to make fitness and recreation spaces more equitable for customers, our efforts must be intersectional. Efforts to include black and brown customers should also include customers with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ customers, and so on.

Inclusion and equity—true equity—in the fitness arena can thrive but only if we’re intentional and willing to do the work to make it so.

Dr. Antonio S. Williams serves as assistant professor at the Indiana University School of Public Health and as a board member with the American Council on Exercise. His passion for health and wellness among youth led him to found Fit University, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering children to make healthy food choices. Williams is author of 101 Ways to Build Your Fitness Brand, and has been featured in The New York Times, Boston Herald, Fox News, St. Petersburg Times, IDEA Health and Fitness Journal, and ACSM Health and Fitness Journal for his expertise. Reach him at aw22@indiana.edu.