Eighteenth International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

The NPS has struggled for decades to become a fully equitable and inclusive agency. Neither its employees nor its visitors are representative of the U.S. population. Despite multiple programs and partnerships, progress towards making these beautiful spaces more inclusive and welcoming for people from communities of color (COCs) has been slow. Unequal access to these awe-inspiring spaces can be seen as environmental or representational injustice. Moreover, the NPS must be accessible to all Americans to remain relevant in a country with rapidly changing demographics and recreation habits. Since racism, whether blatant or in the form of implicit bias, appears to be at the core of the park service’s struggle, I turned to Critical Race Theory as the theoretical grounding for this research. I chose Participatory Action Research methodology to dig deeper into why progress in this arena has been so slow and to seek solutions from relevant stakeholders. The forty participants not only offered their stories in in-depth, unstructured interviews, but also offered their ideas for solutions, direction, and feedback at all stages of the project. Many of the participants are from COCs, and thus their stories are often not heard—traditionally shut out from the dominant narratives perpetuated by our culture and by many of the parks’ interpretive approaches. I contend that these personal counter-narratives play a vital role in changing the system and have the potential to help shift attitudes both within and without the NPS.