The death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis has triggered global protests. From religious groups to trade unions, students to Indigenous people, there has been an outpouring of anger and solidarity. Tens of thousands of people have marched in Australia and street protests continue each day in the USA.

Many in the outdoors community and many outdoor brands in the USA have also expressed support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Here are a few examples.

Teton Gravity Research

TGR posted a video with the following statement:

Yesterday, hundreds of surfers gathered out at Moonlight Beach in San Diego for a paddle-out in honor of George Floyd. The Black Lives Matter demonstration was led by Sal Masekela, a beloved and prominent commentator, journalist, musician, and producer within the action sports community. Masekela has long been outspoken about racism in surfing, but like many of us, Floyd’s murder was the tipping point for him. Take a few minutes to listen to his powerful speech for the assembled surfers.

Here is the TGR guide to supporting Black Lives Matter > https://www.tetongravity.com/story/news/heres-how-you-can-help-end-racism-in-the-outdoors

Protect Our Winters

Protect Our Winters, its staff and our Board of Directors have been deeply troubled by the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and so many others. We stand in solidarity with indigenous peoples, low-income families, people of color and other historically marginalized communities in the fight for justice against systemic racism.

POW helps passionate outdoor people protect the places and lifestyles they love from climate change. Over the last two weeks it has become painfully clear that there is much more that we can do. POW will hire a leadership and organizational culture consultant to help the organization develop a long-term diversity strategy.

Beyond the election, POW is committed to showcasing stories that break the mold of the “typical” outdoor enthusiast. In a landscape that is overwhelmingly white, if we want everyone to feel invited into the outdoors we must use our space to make sure under-represented communities see themselves in stories, articles, photos and marketing.

Voter suppression is one of many systemic injustices that disproportionately affects communities of color. We are working harder than ever at making sure that our programs support voter empowerment for all members of the outdoor community. We are making our ‘Make a Plan to Vote’ and ‘Make a Plan to Vote by Mail’ tools available free of cost to organizations that serve communities of color and want to partner with us in this effort. We are also committed to covering the cost of 20,000 mail-in ballots for our partners.

Patagonia

We join with those who call out the name of George Floyd in sorrow and anger against the systemic racism that pervades our land. We stand in solidarity with African Americans and people of color, including those among our colleagues and their families. And we call on business to work with government and civil society to address racism. We know that we have work to do.

Environmentalism and social justice are inextricably linked and we all must address the intersection of people and planet and the core inequalities in our society.    Patagonia remains deeply committed to saving our planet and a world where everyone has access to clean air, water, land, and a healthy community.

http://www.patagoniaworks.com/press/2020/5/31/patagonia-statement-on-social-injustice

 

Vail resorts

From the CEO:

I have been contemplating how to respond to the gravity of the events unfolding across the United States and the outrage and grief so many are feeling following not only the unjust death of George Floyd, but the continued presence of systemic racism facing the Black community. To the members of the Black community in our Vail Resorts family, we stand with you. We support you.

Explicit and implicit racism, sexism or any kind of discrimination have absolutely no place at Vail Resorts. Personally and professionally, we need to continue to be vigilant in creating a culture of acceptance and inclusion, expand access for communities that face barriers to enjoying the mountains, and contribute to groups that are on the front lines of standing up for basic human rights, especially for those who have historically been marginalized. But we also need to realize this is not enough.

http://news.vailresorts.com/corporate/letter-from-vail-resorts-ceo-we-are-part-problem.htm

 

Burton Snowboards

Burton say:

Black Lives Matter. We stand in solidarity with the Black Community. We’re listening and we’re taking a good, hard look at ourselves. Meaningful change to come.

https://www.burton.com/us/en/home

 

Outside magazine

Outside has been taking a leading role, publishing continuous commentary on BLM and structural racism, and issues around inclusion and diversity in the outdoors.

“It’s been a week of reckoning in America, and by extension, the outdoor community. While outdoors people love to say that nature is for all, that’s more of an aspirational statement than a declaration of truth. In Fortune‘s 100 Best Workplaces for Diversity list, outdoor companies are almost entirely absent (Patagonia is an exception). Our national parks’ fraught histories with racial discrimination made nearly a quarter of black and Hispanic Americans say they felt our parks were unsafe. And while diversity in the camping world is slowly increasing, we’ve still got a long way to go.

Still, there are steps we can all take to help push for a more equitable outdoor world”.

Resources posted by Outside:

Articles: 

Books: 

Support: