The biological and mental necessity of being outside in nature and breathing fresh air is invaluable. The ability to go into different outdoor spaces and see the unique world that nature creates, that’s going a step above.
For Lee, Jada and Love it’s ingrained in the history of who they are. Love is the daughter of Jada who is the daughter of Lee, three generations of Black women visiting Sequoia National Park was a sight that warmed my heart. Ever since Lee was little, nature and the outdoors have been important for her and her family.
“My parents came from a place where they enjoyed nature,” she said. “My grandmother always had a garden, and in the summertime we would go to the fields and pick from everything. We were always outdoors, even if it was just in the backyard.”
That love for the outdoors and hunger for adventure is something she taught her daughter, Jada, who is now teaching her daughter, Love.
The three know that the outdoors, and more specifically the Parks Service, needs work in terms of inclusion and diversity. They go to the parks and enjoy the outdoors because they know it’s their human right to, and hope that they can be an example to help others see that it doesn’t have to be a scary thing.
“I recently watched Oprah, and she said the same thing, that a lot of minorities don’t go to the parks, and her whole show was about her and someone else going to all of these parks,” Jada said. “That’s what I think needs to happen, representation. And I mean, my mom always did it with me and now I’m doing it with my daughter. Just going out and experiencing it, it’s our right to.”
The need for nature and the knowledge that it is good for one’s mental and physical health is something that needs to be taught, but according to Lee that teaching has to come from somewhere. For her it was her grandmother and parents, so she knew if she wanted to pass it down, she would have to be the one to teach her children, and for them to teach theirs.
“Camping, different countries, islands, we’ve done all that,” Lee said. “Sometimes different people have different thoughts on what’s going to happen in an environment, and they don’t want to go to them. They have a fear of the unknown. But for me, I’ve always been adventurous, I just want to go see and explore.”
Lee needs there to be a goal, a reason for going to the park and a specific thing she wants to see or explore. She always has something she wants to solve and comes back with answers, they can be any goal no matter how big or small and it gives her the courage to make those adventures into the wild.
The three live in Stockton and enjoy going to parks as often as they can. As Jada puts it, “You can go to a spa; you can go to an island; or you can go to a park and just be surrounded by nature and see how small we truly are.”
These spaces belong to everybody, and it shouldn’t be a big deal to see three generations of black women hiking in a national park. Together they are beating down a stereotype that has potentially kept others from exploring, that the outdoors isn’t safe for people of color, or that it’s not ‘their space’. These ladies know to not listen to those voices, and to trust in the wisdom of their ancestors who flourished in nature. Lee, Jada and Love look forward to continuing building a healthy relationship with the outdoors, and leading by example to help others see the intrinsic values it holds.