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A conversation around how to make the camp and recreation industries a more welcoming place for a wider range of people. 

In this special summer bonus episode, Travis is joined by Dr. Daniel Theriault to discuss racism, power and privilege in the recreation industry. Dr. Theriault and Travis dig into some of the work that’s needed to subvert these unhealthy systems within the rec and camp industry.

It’s a great interview and we’re so grateful to Dr. Theriault for joining us.

Some notes from this interview:

Dr. Theriault proposes three things that all recreation professionals, camp professionals, and white people can do to start to

1. Work to see power and privilege - the power systems that shape the way the world works (racism, classism, etc.).
2. Take responsibility for our role in those systems.
3. Take anti-racist actions.

Drilling down into some specifics:

• Normalize the lack of comfort that will surely follow when we start to confront our involvement in systems power and privilege
• Read what is painful - read and absorb information on the BIPOC history and experience so we are better equipped to serve our campers through that lens of understanding.
• Think about the media that we absorb and how BIPOC communities are represented in those shows and movies.

Daniel and Travis come to some for the Summer Camp Industry as a whole:

• Be careful about the language we use and the messages it sense. For example, how might “Color War” be perceived in light of the racial conflict that has existed in communities over the last 200+ years.
• Look at policy - Who do we value? Who do we hire? Why do we hire them?
• Educate ourselves and others on the history of the land our camp is on and who occupied the land not just before the camp, but before settlement.
• Increasing representation of diverse staff at your camp. This can help your camp start to truly look like a camp where BIPOC campers can see themselves.
  • First steps here include ensuring our pre-camp training includes topics of power, privilege and the contexts of racism.
  • Building relationships of trust with community organizations, HBCUs and other places where you may look to hire BIPOC folks.

Remember, these are bullet-points, not check-boxes. Undoing the systems of racism, power and privilege is going to be lifelong work.

Thank you to those Camp Pros who are committed to continuing to do this continued work.

Links from this episode

• Dr. Theriault’s article: Vulnerable Teaching in Leisure Studies

Your Hosts:

• Travis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - CampHacker.TV, Founder at Go Camp Pro
• Dr. Daniel Theriault, Assistant Professor of Recreation Management at Appalachian State University - [email protected]

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