BLACK LIVES MATTER.
This is not just how we show up at our camps: It’s how camps can show up in the world.
“Nice does not equal not racist.”
- Rachel Cargle
By Sarah Kurtz McKinnon
In camping, I have been a part of (and led) many conversations about how to be sure that we, as white camp leaders, are nice. In other words, how to be “inclusive”, “accepting” and “welcoming.” This is how white camp leaders have largely approached racism in camping: Thinking if we are kind enough, and if we get more people of color involved with camp, “camp magic” will do the work and racism will not be a problem within our camp bubbles. We’ve been wrong.
Black Resistance Movements have been taking place in America for more than 400 years. However, the contemporary version of this longtime resistance, today’s Black Lives Matter movement, has brought to the forefront the fact that being “not racist” is of little consequence when there are racist systems and inequities (especially anti-Black and anti-Indigenous systems and inequities) that dominate many or most aspects of our country in the U.S., our communities, and--yes--our camps.
What are some ways this shows up in camping?
Our leadership and ownership.
Although approximately 60% of the U.S. population is white, 94% of overnight camp directors are white. There is only one Black-owned private overnight camp in the United States, Camp Kupugani.
Our definition.
Do a simple Google Image search of phrases like “camp director” or “summer camp” or “summer camp counselor.” Who is prominently represented? Who is not represented?
Even the word “camp” itself is associated with racist parts of American history and culture, such as Japanese Internment Camps during World War II.
Our history.
Camp started in America as a white institution and it has largely remained that way--not just by chance. Fewer than fifty years ago, within many of our lifetimes, 125 member camps of the American Camp Association resigned because they wanted their camps to remain segregated. This is our recent history.
Camp is clear evidence of the institutional and structural racism pervasive in America today.
“In a racist society it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.”
- Angela Davis
I’d bet that close to 100% of white camp would self-identify as “not racist”. But how many could also show that they are actively antiracist? When we, as camp leaders, prioritize antiracism, we can work on real, meaningful change: both within our camp communities and in greater society.
But what does it mean to be antiracist?
“Being antiracist results from a conscious decision to make frequent, consistent, equitable choices daily.
These choices require ongoing self-awareness and self-reflection as we move through life.
In the absence of making antiracist choices, we (un)consciously uphold aspects of white supremacy, white-dominant culture, and unequal institutions and society.
Being racist or antiracist is not about who you are; it is about what you do.”
-National Museum of African American History and Culture
I believe white-led camps have been distracted by working to appear not racist to actually be antiracist.
To be antiracist, white camp leaders must recognize that white supremacy exists within themselves and within their camps. And that is really hard.
We worry about being (and appearing to be) “good” and kind people--and about others’ perceptions of us.
We worry about showing that camp is a great place for “all” and fail to understand that it isn’t always such.
With this, we are too worried about positioning our organizations as inclusive when we could and should be worried about how to use our power and resources to fight for justice.
Performance is a tool of surface anti-racism work. It is time to stand behind our surface-level statements to make multi-leveled, lasting commitments to antiracism.
We need to work on ourselves, but it is not enough to just work on ourselves.
We need to work on our camps, but it is not enough to just work on our camps.
Our industry has the power to provide fuel to this movement and make lasting change.
This is not just how we show up at our camps: It’s how camps can show up in the world.
Let’s figure out together what we all said we would do on our social media posts after the murder of George Floyd and materialize our commitment into the camp community--and our greater communities.
What’s Next?
At The Summer Camp Society, we have been thinking about a commitment to antiracist work. We’ve decided that all race-related work that TSCS supports has to:
Be Impactful: We are eager to move beyond theoretical talk. It’s time for action. Whether it’s changing policy, raising money, or holding each other accountable, all of our initiatives must push the antiracism movement forward
Seek Radical Justice: We are going way beyond just the “diversity” conversation. Our initiatives must push camp leaders and communities to seek justice and revolutionary change
In order to think about what to do next, we’ve sorted the ways that TSCS would like to start supporting you, your organization and our greater communities toward racial justice and developing antiracist identities.
We’d like to invite you to join us in one or more of these three areas of antiracist work in the camp context: Individual Antiracism, Institutional Antiracism and Structural Antiracism.
Individual Antiracism Work for Camp Leaders
WHAT IT IS
Work at this level means working on developing antiracist habits and identities as an individual person and as a leader; recognizing privilege and working to eliminate bias; and making antiracism work a personal priority.
HOW YOU CAN JOIN US
Anti-Racism Learning & Accountability Groups
In a recent interview, Ijeoma Oluo was asked to share her advice for white people who want to talk about race right now. She said, “You have to be running your track of education, asking why didn’t I know about this? Why wasn’t I doing something sooner? Where am I lacking? What words are confusing me? Start reading up and start learning.”
With this as a starting point, we are organizing monthly anti-racism learning and accountability groups.
Each month, TSCS will choose an anti-racism book written by a BIPOC author. Leaders who would like to read that book and discuss it with other camp leaders are invited to join. Discussion groups will be limited in size (around 12 participants), and will meet weekly on Zoom throughout the course of the month.
TSCS will assign and train volunteer facilitators to lead each of these groups and provide discussion guides for each book section, including discussion prompts that involve our work and identities as camp leaders.
Participants will commit to a $50 contribution each month that they participate in the accountability group. Fifty percent of registration fees will be donated to the scholarship fund at Camp Kupugani, the sole, Black-owned private overnight camp in the country.
The other fifty percent? That’s up to the groups. At the end of each month (in other words, at the end of each book), each discussion group will select a racial-justice non-profit organization to which they would like TSCS to send the remainder of their contributions.
For September, we will read and discuss Oluo’s book So You Want to Talk about Race. Sign up to join us by August 28th. Groups begin the week of September 7th.
Institutional Antiracism Work For Camp Leaders
WHAT IT IS
Work at this level means understanding how racism has infiltrated and impacted our organizations (camps); creating measurable, antiracist goals for the organization; assigning resources toward antiracist objectives; and making antiracism work an organizational priority.
HOW YOU CAN JOIN US
Learn then Act: Eradicating Racism Embedded in Camping and Our Camps
We will be putting all of our organizing efforts for the rest of the year into understanding racism in camping and working to make changes at the camp and industry levels.
We are planning a series of blogs, webinars, panels or other educational opportunities that help camp leaders understand how racism is embedded in our industry and how we can unravel its hold on our traditions and cultures.
Over the remainder of 2020, we begin initiatives with two foci:
Anti-Black Racism
Anti-Indigenous Racism
It is our goal that these initiatives begin a lifetime commitment to fighting anti-Indigenous and anti-Black racism within our camps.
We will seek sponsors for this work and charge a registration fee for webinars so that our expert presenters, many of whom are BIPOC and speaking from lived experience, can be appropriately compensated. If you would like to join our team as an expert, paid contributor on these topics, please fill out the following form:
Structural Antiracism Work for Camp Leaders
Cole Perry said to me the other day that when thinking about camps’ potential involvement in the current civil rights movement, he thinks about what institutions did to support the civil rights movement of the 1960s. These organizations, largely churches, worked to organize, support and bolster activists fighting for civil rights. I haven’t been able to build out this concept as clearly yet, but here are the questions for it that we want to work on building out and answering:
What can camp organizations do to support already-existing movements?
What can camp organizations do to support the already-existing communities, particularly Indigenous communities, within the areas where camps exist?
How can camp organizations and camp communities mobilize their resources to influence and support antiracism movements?
What are the responsibilities of camps and camp leaders to our greater culture and community?
What do you think? Where should we start with this? What have YOU been working on? We’d love to hear your thoughts.
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