“Uh, bitch – can I hold the mic? – Don’t – Please can I hold the mic? – You can’t – I would like to say that, okay, I would like to say that…
I can’t be a singular expression of myself, there’s too many parts, too many spaces, too many manifestations, too many lines, too many curves, too many troubles, too many journeys, too many mountains, too many rivers, so many…”
-Solange Knowles1
Gathering as people of color has been one of the most powerful tools of healing. Having a space to explore oneself outside of the eyes of the mainstream climbing culture that pushes us toward conforming and assimilating is the best thing we can do for self care. And after being comfortable in that space, taking that new or honed identity into the overall world keeps us grounded as people of color.
Here we will take a critical look at what happens in affinity spaces when it is dominated by certain racial demographics of people of color and what effect it has upon those who are still a minority in that space. We will examine umbrella terms for people of color, observe Climbers of Color’s “BIPOC Climb Nights”2 within the Seattle area, look at the community through the lens of Black and Indigenous climbers, and view the demographics of local non profit boards for climbing…
Read/listen to the rest of this journey on my Substack
Resources for education:
158 Rescources to Understand Racism in America
The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross
An Indigenous People’s History of the United States
Local Seattle Climbing Areas Indigenous Tribe-Snoqualmie
I would like to thank Fes for helping me decide on a platform for my writing when first embarking on this. You are solid as a rock, my friend.
8 thoughts on “When the Minority Becomes the Majority”