Last year in celebration of Black History Month, I shared a list of books about the African American experience in the outdoors. African Americans are historically underrepresented in the outdoor industry both in terms of employment and how the industry portrays itself and the users of its products/experience. Because I’m wholly unqualified to unravel the complicated legacy of African Americans in the outdoors, I again highly recommend taking a look at Latria Graham’s essay “We’re Here. You Just Don’t See Us.” which as originally published in Outside Magazine in 2018. If you want to dive deeper into the subject. I recommend looking at some of the books I shared in my original post about black authors.
I was recently asked if would share any further recommendations. Here are three books that I enjoyed in the past year.
Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden (2023) by Camille T. Dungy writes about here experiences over the last decade of creating a flourishing garden in a typical suburban neighborhood and the challenges that come with it. But Soil is so much more than the story of a garden. It’s also a memoir of her lived experiences and an exploration of how how diversity in both our gardens and our society builds resilience and thriving communities.
Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant is the co-host of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom: Protecting the Wild. Her 2024 memoir Wild Life: Finding My Purpose in an Untamed World describes her path from a childhood in the San Francisco Bay Area to a becoming a wildlife ecologist and ultimately a television host. Exploring some of the same themes of environmental and social justice as Soil, this memoir explores the challenges, opportunities, and expectations she faces not just as a scientist but also as a minority woman in her field.
Last but not least is Pack Light: A Journey to Find Myself (2024) by Shilletha Curtis. Curtis set out in 2021 to hike the Appalachian Trail (AT) hoping to find support in the hiking community instead found herself isolated and sometimes ostracized for not fitting in “correctly”. The themes in this book are heavy and include discussion of a history of abuse, depression, and PTSD. Despite these many challenges Curtis finished the AT. Since then, she completed the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) in 2023, and has plans to complete the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) to become the first queer black woman to complete hiking’s Triple Crown.
