“I saw a big connection between our disrespect for nature and the disrespect we show to ourselves and for each other” - Audrey Peterman.

Many national park enthusiasts can recite the history of the system or their favorite site by memory. They laud the conservationists and leaders who knew we must protect precious natural landscapes for future generations, they know the first national park (Yellowstone), and the year the National Park Service was founded (1916). But how many know of the contributions of people of color to our national parks? 

I count myself as one of the ignorant before I read Legacy on the Land: A Black Couple Discovers Our National Inheritance and Tells Why Every American Should Care, by Audrey Peterman. Published in 2010, Peterman traces the trip that she took with her husband that immersed them in the importance of national parks, then recounts their monumental efforts to bring awareness of the parks not only to communities of color, but also the majority-white non-profit organizations, government officials, agencies, and task forces that make major decisions about national parks every year.

As someone immersed in the history, science, and current affairs of national parks, I did know tangentially of the efforts many took to bridge the gap between natural landscapes and communities of color, as well as the communities already fighting to preserve the green spaces important to them. However, reading Peterman’s account of efforts to be a leader in a space where many initially didn’t want her was both humbling and emotional. 

She summarizes an article in a 1994 issue of National Parks that rightfully argued that the Park Service must reach out to more ethnic minorities. Sure, there were some positive responses, but some were shocking:

“Bringing more minorities into the parks would probably raise the crime rate when the rangers are being forced to spend more of their time in law enforcement than ever before,” read one.

Or: “Whether Goldsmith [the author of the article] wishes to be realistic or not, bringing in blacks and Latinos from the ghettos will only contribute disproportionately to vandalism and other criminal activities, including robbery, murder, drug trafficking, and gang activity,” said another.

Peterman’s response was thoughtful and honest, “I was stunned. It hadn’t occurred to me that people felt that way. But it helped explain why, with all the rhetoric we had heard about ‘outreach’ and ‘inclusion,’ so little action had been taken.”

In contrast to these views, Peterman provides a first-person account of visits to the parks. For example, during a trip to Biscayne National Park, she learns how the Jones family - its patriarch initially born into slavery in the 19th century - earned enough money through skill and hard work to invest $300 in buying Porgy Key within Biscayne Bay. Later, he and his family purchased Old Rhodes Key as well. Peterman writes: “Within two years of their arrival, the industrious family was producing enough pineapples and limes to turn a profit, and they eventually became the biggest suppliers to markets on the east coast of Florida.” The family was later instrumental in defeating a development plan that would have threatened the bay and supported the eventual creation of the national park.

Stories like these abound in the national parks, but are rarely taught in history books or school lessons, Peterman explains. 

She continues:

“We came to the realization that the park system is a repository of the American experience…Since people of color were integrally involved in building America, it follows that our history is interwoven within the parks.”

I think too often there’s a note of “we’ll reach out because it will help them” feeling in the environmental community. Peterman makes the critical point that involving all Americans in protecting national parks creates a stronger advocacy movement. In one example, she cites a hearing over a proposed airport in Big Cypress National Preserve. “[W]hen the U.S. Air Force came to town to hold public hearings about the proposal, not only did members of the Community Partners speak out against it, but so did residents of Liberty City.”

She continues: “It was the fulfillment of what we had envisioned in our motto: Give the people information, show them what there is to protect and they will value it and be motivated to guard it for the future.” Thanks to the efforts of Peterman’s stakeholders and many others, the airport was never built.

Peterman covers many aspects of the discrepancies of the environmental and social justice movement, as well as efforts to combine the two and do better at incorporating feedback from all stakeholders. 

Perhaps the greatest strength of Peterman’s book is the impact it can have on different audiences. As someone who is not a person of color, I realized yet again the barriers that African Americans, Hispanics, and other minorities must overcome to participate in the environmental movement, which is supposed to be inclusive, and also that there is no excuse for my ignorance on the topic as a whole. As a writer and communicator, I am more motivated to help others tell their stories, like Peterman does, to inspire audiences across the country. 

This book should be required reading for all actively involved in loving, managing, and protecting our national parks.