Nature is for all of us. Black people face enough barriers to enjoying the outdoors. Self-defeating stereotypes should not be one of them

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – When Rodney Smith’s uncle invited him to go to Sedona for a hike, Rodney, who is Black, said to himself, “Hiking? That sounds like something White people do.” Rodney went on the hike. And it changed his life. “I loved everything about it. I loved the scenery. I loved being outdoors. I had that wonderment of a kid… I said, ‘this is my new thing,’ and I got out and started hiking on my own.” This was following Rodney’s release from prison in October 2021, after serving 9 years on a 12-year sentence. Rodney says, “I was forced to reconsider everything about my life, about my thinking, about the man I was and the man I wanted to become. I realized that a lot of what I had been doing was because it was expected, and it was what everyone else was doing. I hadn’t really figured out who I was and when I got out, I told myself I was going to start trying new things.” Related Stories He did start trying new things. In addition to taking up hiking, he started eating a plant-based diet – partially inspired by the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego...