There’s a myth Latria Graham hopes to dispel: that African-Americans dislike the outdoors.
National Park Service numbers show blacks make up 7 percent of annual park visitors, even though they're 12 percent of the U.S population. Distance from the parks, worries about personal safety and lack of access drive that gap, Graham said. She points to the recent spike in park entrance fees as an example.
Graham, a journalist who lives in South Carolina, wrote a piece for Outside magazine called “We’re Here, You Just Don’t See Us.” She talked to Colorado Matters about inheriting her father’s love of the outdoors, finding outside spaces that are close to home and raising visibility.
