In this summer session episode, Dr. Rasul Mowatt, head of the department of parks, recreation, and tourism management at North Carolina State University, joins Toward Inclusive Excellence editor-in-chief Alexia Hudson-Ward to provide a DEIA perspective to leisure studies. In the conversation, Rasul describes the personal and professional path toward his research, which sits at the intersection between nature, leisure, and race. In particular, he highlights how his decision-making in previous city government roles centered social justice; essentially, understanding the oppression or injustices affecting a community leads to programs that better serve constituents and address root issues. Further, Rasul parses out how race impacts the occupancy of nature spaces, surfacing topics like policing, private property, and the development of public parks. Alexia and Rasul also discuss cultural memory, paying particular attention to signage, statues, and memorials in public places. To close, Rasul shares his recommendations for summer leisure, including travel for the sake of history—no park, bus stop, or sign is too small for exploration and understanding for the past.

Episode theme music: Black is the Night by Jeris (c) copyright 2014 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. Ft: DJ Vadim (djvadim), NiGiD