The following is a message Arkansas Outside received from the American Hiking Society, we’ve added some links for an explanation of new concepts.
In its quest to be an ever-stronger ally, so as not to take space from the very important discussions and protests around racism in America and, in particular, around police brutality of Black bodies, American Hiking Society will suspend its promotion of National Trails Day® this year. Instead, we will be taking allyship actions, including amplifying Black voices in the outdoor community; sharing resources on racism in the outdoors that will link back to publications and content authored by people of color, and urging our supporters to call on Congress to pass legislation that provides equitable access to quality natural spaces for ALL. We thank our brand and partners who have supported this decision to re-focus our efforts where we feel they are needed most at this time.
We, therefore, will not be using the #NationalTrailsDay hashtag nor referring to the #NationalTrailsDay pledge. We invite you to join us in this effort by taking your own actions in allyship. Please feel free to adapt the content AHS will share online to fit your needs if you’d like, just don’t use the old social media toolkit that tags #NationalTrailsDay, nor refer to the #NationalTrailsDay pledge, which will now be defunct.
Thank you so much for your valued partnership, and we are wishing everyone moments of peace in what is a difficult time.
allyship definition: Allyship is the lifelong process in which people with privilege and power work to develop empathy towards another marginalized group’s challenges or issues. The goal of allyship is to create a culture in which the marginalized group feels valued, supported, and heard. Being an ally is not a label — it is a verb.
